It’s worth taking the 20 minutes to listen to this — and it’s worth sharing with those in your social media circles who may be relying on rumors instead of facts, too:
LIVE: Dr. Anthony Fauci joins Reuters for an exclusive interview on the future of COVID-19 https://t.co/JRjvSGnRxk
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 5, 2020
US adds 1,262 more deaths to its COVID-19 toll in the past 24 hours, Johns Hopkins University reports.
The US has now recorded 4,818,328 total cases and 157,930 deaths, making it by far the worst-hit country in the world
? Crowds on Hampton Beach as cases rise in New England pic.twitter.com/aecpjI2Ed8
— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 6, 2020
Facebook and Twitter pulled posts by President Trump and his campaign, alleging the posts violated their rules on sharing misinformation about the coronavirus https://t.co/WeuLcepKZA pic.twitter.com/qdopAMrJaX
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 6, 2020
Latest @NavigatorSurvey tracking poll out: Today's release hit an unfortunate milestone in that more than half of Americans (51%) now say they know someone who has been infected with coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/QRW2BDtcEm
— Nick Gourevitch (@nickgourevitch) August 5, 2020
Right now, the virus is winning and Americans are losing – including 1,400 who lost their lives yesterday. Every state and every county should report essential indicators every day and week. That way, we'll know what our risk is and what our community is doing to reduce the risk.
— Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrTomFrieden) August 5, 2020
U.S. #coronavirus cases and state maps: Tracking cases, deaths. The states w/ the highest daily reported cases per capita include: Louisiana, Nevada, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama & Florida https://t.co/1UQhjOEwDw
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) August 5, 2020
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The novel coronavirus has killed at least 701,112 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT on Wednesdayhttps://t.co/P4Xj9I2hAg pic.twitter.com/ilPD41rV4J
— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 5, 2020
A governor in central Japan announces a state of emergency due to rising virus cases and asked businesses and people to curb their activities, especially during an upcoming holiday. https://t.co/KCpm8zzkXz
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 6, 2020
North Korea is quarantining thousands of people and shipping food and other aid to a southern city locked down over coronavirus worries, officials say. https://t.co/2McSuaFDJe
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 6, 2020
VIDEO: Vietnam to open makeshift COVID-19 hospital as cases surge in Danang.
The city is converting a sports complex into a 2000-bed hospital to treat COVID-19 patients. The city has reported more than 180 cases since July 25. It recorded its first coronavirus death on July 31 pic.twitter.com/jXRTWEV30v
— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 6, 2020
Philippine economy dives into recession in worst slump on record as economic activity is hammered by one of the world’s longest and strictest coronavirus lockdowns https://t.co/nggaGkW0HT pic.twitter.com/KEde9U3u9r
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 6, 2020
Nearly a third of Afghanistan's population — or 10 million people — has been infected with the coronavirus, according to health ministry estimates published Wednesdayhttps://t.co/KajHRanEP8
— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 5, 2020
Europe tightened virus restrictions as fears of a second wave of infections spurred by the holiday season grew with the worldwide death toll crossing 700,000 https://t.co/tbnrlyDDTQ
— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 5, 2020
Coronavirus: France records two-month high in cases https://t.co/GnetqDPQpt
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 5, 2020
Anyone returning to Germany from 130 different countries and regions will have to take a coronavirus test. But it's fast — and free. https://t.co/6S3ihyMHDA
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 6, 2020
Australia’s second-biggest city of Melbourne enters strict new coronavirus lockdown as authorities battle a second wave of infections https://t.co/TdpLGEv6i2 by @Colpackham pic.twitter.com/JMcsPTXW2q
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 6, 2020
South Africa’s health minister reports decreasing rates of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 but warns that vigilance must continue 'to prevent a renewed surge.' https://t.co/JRaap6LRnh
— AP Africa (@AP_Africa) August 5, 2020
VIDEO: A team of volunteers sprays disinfectants in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas to stop the spread of COVID-19, saying that the government is not serving these poor neighborhoods, which have to fend for themselves against the pandemic pic.twitter.com/IZkrEJtX1P
— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 5, 2020
Mexico nears 50,000 coronavirus deaths, with 829 new fatalities https://t.co/PjSv2yEe09 pic.twitter.com/LN9fMpK6tl
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 6, 2020
Another cruise ship w/ more than 200 aboard is docked in a Norwegian harbor after a passenger tested positive for #coronavirus upon returning to Denmark. It's the 2nd ship idled in just days. The other has had 44 people test positive https://t.co/cVSJDys1IS via @medical_xpress
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) August 6, 2020
Hopes that the world's cruise industry would be gathering steam again in time for the August holiday month are sinking as some ports remain closed and authorities impose new coronavirus health ruleshttps://t.co/Ec3eOEGKIq
— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 5, 2020
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WHO urges Russia to follow safety & efficacy guidelines on #coronavirus vaccines after Moscow announced plans to start swiftly producing vaccine doses. Russia said Monday it aims to begin mass production in September turning out "several million" doses https://t.co/7uwpJYedyt
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) August 5, 2020
A physician overseeing a clinical trial in Washington for Moderna's coronavirus vaccine has warned it will be impossible to tell how well it works without recruiting enough elderly and ethnic minority volunteers https://t.co/9tIVF1ksB2
— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 5, 2020
Scientists uncover the biological signatures of the worst #Covid19 cases https://t.co/OafzCBKjM8
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) August 5, 2020
#COVID-sniffing dogs? There have been dogs that accurately sniffed the presence of certain cancers & African rats that can identify TB in test samples. Now, canines that are said to precisely pinpoint the presence of the #coronavirus w/ 100% accuracy https://t.co/NeKK0LKLxC
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) August 5, 2020
Standing caveat here: The biggest problem with ‘sniffing dogs’ is not the dogs’ capabilities, it’s the handlers’ biases. Dogs with the skills & drive to perform this kind of demanding job are very, very invested in pleasing their handlers; it’s important that those handlers are trained, and conscientious, not to unconsciously ‘cue’ their partner into giving them the answers they want (Yep, that suspicious person certainly smells diseased to me!) rather than the facts (Coronavirus byproduct scent present: yes/no?). And it’s tiring — the dogs require regular & frequent breaks, or they’ll start making mistakes (as will their handlers!). Even the best-designed, most-tested programs, like those for dogs sniffing contraband at airports, run into problems during busy periods where the temptation is to cut corners. That’s gonna be magnified in any first-to-market, git’er-done ‘miracle’ programs intended to expedite local business / school reopenings, or entry at border stations.
Many health departments losing race to warn contacts of COVID victims https://t.co/5Bgb93kRuB via @SpecialReports
— Marc Lipsitch (@mlipsitch) August 4, 2020
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Half of low-income communities have no ICU beds, a factor that's shedding light on yet another reason the #coronavirus pandemic is disproportionately killing the poor https://t.co/Gv38Y194hD via @medical_xpress
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) August 5, 2020
U.S. businesses sharply reduced hiring last month, suggesting that the resurgent viral outbreak has slowed the economic recovery. Firms added just 167,000 jobs in July, payroll processor ADP says, far below June’s gain of 4.3 million. https://t.co/LLkk9kuPvw
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 5, 2020
The number of TSA agents coming down w/ #coronavirus infections is rising rapidly, about 1500 so far. Their union is urging safety measures as cases among employees surge https://t.co/tpy4aAM36l
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) August 5, 2020
I often tweet about states struggling so now, a wonderful success story:
New York
Doing 67,000 tests a day
Finding 670 cases a day
1% test positivity
This is South Korea level. And its awesome
Transmission levels so low NY can, with proper precautions, open schools safely
— Ashish K. Jha (@ashishkjha) August 5, 2020
Mississippi's Choctaw Indian community was flourishing. Then the coronavirus hit. Now, a local cemetery is running out of space. The tribe's economy is devastated. And many are running out of hope. https://t.co/ZbH9nzCb0E
— AP South U.S. Region (@APSouthRegion) August 5, 2020
YY_Sima Qian
Yesterday, China reported 30 new domestic confirmed cases and 13 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Ürumqi in Xinjiang “Autonomous” Region reported 27 new confirmed cases, and 12 new asymptomatic cases. 7 cases in critical condition, and 19 in serious condition. There are currently 637 confirmed cases (634 in Ürumqi, 1 at Kashgar, Changji Prefecture and Xinjiang Construction Corps), and 130 asymptomatic cases (128 in Ürumqi, 1 each in Changji Prefecture and Xinjiang Construction Corps), plus 1 asymptomatic case exported to Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province. 8 confirmed cases (including 1 at Kashgar) have recovered and were released from hospitals, 4 asymptomatic cases were released from medical quarantine; 1 critical case has improved to serious condition and 3 serious cases have stabilized to moderate. There are 17301 close contacts under quarantine and medical observation.
Dalian in Liaoning Province reported 3 new confirmed cases (1 of whom was previously designated as asymptomatic and the other 2 are traced close contacts, all have been under quarantine), and no new asymptomatic cases. The outbreak in Dalian has a total of 92 confirmed cases: 2 serious cases, 77 moderate cases, and 12 mild cases are currently in the hospital; 39 are workers from the import seafood processing plant, 14 are their close contacts, 20 are residents of Dalian Bay sub-district, and 17 are close contacts of confirmed/asymptotic cases not directly connected to the plant, 1 has unclear source of transmission. The city also currently has 22 asymptomatic cases: 12 are workers from the import seafood processing plant, 1 is a close contacts, 6 are residents of Dalian Bay sub-district, and 3 are close contacts of confirmed/asymptotic cases not directly connected to the plant. Additionally, 6 confirmed and 9 asymptomatic cases exported to the rest of China. 1 confirmed case has recovered and was released from hospital, and an asymptomatic case was also released from medical quarantine.
As I mentioned yesterday, a new asymptomatic case was reported by Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province, and introduced case from Kashgar in Xinjiang.
Yesterday, China reported 7 new imported confirmed cases, 7 imported asymptomatic cases:
Today, Hong Kong reported 95 new cases, 91 from local transmission, XX of whom do not have clear source of transmission. This is the 4th consecutive day with double digit new cases. Hong Kong is also conducting mass testing of high risk demographics (nursing home workers, bus drivers, taxi drivers, etc.), ~ 500K individuals in total. As of 8/4, 90K individuals have been tested, 31 with preliminarily positive results.
China National Health Commission shared yesterday that the current daily RT-PCR testing capacity in the country is 4.84M, not accounting for sample pooling. 4,946 labs and institutions are qualified to perform RT-PCR tests, with 380K technical staff and 120K testing machines in total. 200M RT-PCR test kits have been distributed to hospitals, regional CDCs, testing agencies, and customs and border control, etc. Whenever an outbreak is detected, local testing capacity is surged to even higher levels, by running the labs 24/7, setting up mobile test labs, bringing in sample collectors and lab personnel from the rest of the country, qualify new labs, and utilize sample pooling while prevalence is still very low. I have not seen any reports of samples being sent to other cities/provinces for processing, likely because the health authorities find the logistics lead time unacceptable from epidemic control perspective.
mrmoshpotato
Biden’s inauguration speech is him just kicking selfish assholes like this in the crotch.
JPL
@YY_Sima Qian: Once again thank you for all your updates. Who would have thought that our leader would just ignore the coming crisis.
OzarkHillbilly
Me.
ETA: ;-)
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s daily numbers. 15 new cases. 10 cases from local infection: eight Malaysians, six of them in the new cluster in northern Kedah, one in Negeri Sembilan, one in Labuan; two non-Malaysians, one foreign worker and one illegal immigrant. Five imported cases: four Malaysians, returning from South Africa and the Philippines (three); one non-Malaysian arriving from the Philippins. Cumulative reported total 9,038 cases.
11 more patients recovered and were discharged, total 8,713 patients recovered or 96.4% of the cumulative reported total. Active and contagious cases in hospital for isolation climbed again, to 200 patients; two are in ICU, one of them is on a respirator.
No new deaths since 31 July. Total remains at 125 deaths, 1.38% of the cumulative reported total and 1.41% of resolved cases.
DG of Health’s scheduled media briefing is yet to start, so I’m posting numbers from Health Ministry’s Covid-19 dashboard and Twitter feed. I’ll update with his remarks if he says anything important.
NotMax
Number of officially reported cases worldwide about to reach (and pass) 19,000,000.
What with cases unreported or misdiagnosed and with sketchy, incomplete or questionable reporting from some areas and so forth, it goes without saying that the true totals are much higher.
Amir Khalid
@Amir Khalid:
Correction:
Five imported cases: three Malaysians, returning from the Philippines; two non-Malaysians, arriving from the Philippines and South Africa.
mrmoshpotato
@OzarkHillbilly: As did everyone else who voted for Hillary, including Hillary herself.
mrmoshpotato
Thanks again for the daily updates, AL. And thanks to the jackals too for news from your part of our pale blue dot.
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax: And the just plain cover-ups by the Russthuglican assclowns and their foreign assclown counterparts.
Assclowns.
OzarkHillbilly
@mrmoshpotato: Yep.
gkoutnik
Assclowns.
I marvel at the wonderful invective that this whole mess has inspired in us. Just like Trump’s crazy, you think you’ve gone as far as you can go – and then the heroic front-pagers and commentariat are challenged to go even further.
There ought to be a museum when this is all over.
OzarkHillbilly
Coronavirus could starve Canada zoo’s pandas as bamboo supply chain snaps
mrmoshpotato
@gkoutnik:
I’d prefer American Nuremberg trials.
Robert Sneddon
Scotland update — nothing changed much after the Aberdeen lockdown announcement of yesterday. The number of new cases nationwide is still high at 67 confirmed cases, still no further confirmed deaths. The Aberdeen cluster size has increased to 79. Hospital bed occupancy and ICU numbers across the country are stable.
Scotland is still planning to reopen schools fully next week, with 100% attendance. The First Minister has said that if there’s a choice between keeping the schools open and hospitality venues like pubs and restaurants then she will favour the schools.
Kristine
Thanks for the Fauci interview link. Cautious optimism. Waiting for the data. Refusal to give out sound bites. I hope he’s right about the safety board not bowing to political pressure because if any vaccine looks anything close to good, it will ramp up quickly.
No name
@Amir Khalid: I enjoyed your idling/idly comment on the earlier Biden thread ??
WereBear
The people remaining in my old job have had their hours and wages juggled yet again. Fortunately, I discovered this morning that NY has extended UI benefits for more weeks, so this simultaneous news sort of canceled each other out, crisis-wise.
At least Governor Cuomo doesn’t want me to die in the gutter. I appreciate that.
YY_Sima Qian
@JPL: Yeah, China was the first one to face a major outbreak, the first to crush a large 1st wave, among the first to face the sustained challenge of imported cases, and among the first to start the “whack-a-mole” of local outbreaks. I was hoping that, by sharing the details and the mechanics of COVID-19 response in China, it would prove helpful as frame of reference for people in countries that will traverse the same course, the kinds of information to look for and the trends to identify to get an idea of the state of the outbreak and the effectiveness of the response.
For example, the fact that the China National Health Commission still insists on accounting symptomatic and asymptomatic cases (unless they turn symptomatic) separately have proved useful in the current Dalian and Ürumqi outbreaks. A high percentage of cases were asymptomatic when first identified, then turning symptomatic (and thus, “confirmed”) over the subsequent days, is good circumstantial evidence that the outbreak in general and cases specifically are caught early, in their pre-symptomatic phase. Having the majority of symptomatic cases coming from asymptomatic cases and close contacts already under quarantine is a strong signal that the authorities are ahead of the outbreak. The more detailed the case reports and the transmission maps published by the health authorities, the more rigorous the contact tracing effort.
I had feared that the Trump administration and Republican states would bungle the response to the 1st wave, but I had thought by Jun./Jul. the US would get to a point similar to China in Mar./Apr. Having seen how thoroughly they mismanaged the 1st wave, I am not that surprised that they have failed to suppress the 1st wave, and allowed it to reach new heights. Nonetheless, it does not make it any less dismaying. I feel like I am posting messages to another universe.
On the other hand, other nations are certainly referencing China’s experience in their responses. I do wonder if witnessing Wuhan’s example (negative one in terms of an out of control outbreak collapsing a developed heath system, positive one in terms of effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical intervention measures in arresting the spread) helped Italy/Spain/France to implement strictly enforced lock downs much earlier than otherwise would have been the case. Melbourne’s Stage 4 lock down is awfully similar to the ones in China in Medium/High Risk districts, where only one person in each household is allowed outside per day to purchase daily necessities, and all non-essential businesses closed (with a strict definition of essential). Vietnam’s response to the Danang outbreak is highly reminiscent of Beijing’s, Ürumqi’s and Dalian’s – large scale (Wuhan style, even) lock downs of communities (no one is allowed to leave their homes, daily necessities delivered by the state), mass screening of all residents, building makeshift medical facilities to house mild/moderate cases. Given how shocked and even repulsed much of the world was by China’s draconian cordon sanitaire around Hubei Province and lock down of much of the country, I am guessing these extraordinary measures are not in anyone’s contingency plans.
Political relations between China and Vietnam or Australia are best characterized as wary, to the point of frosty in the latter’s case. That has not stopped these countries from taking lessons from China and collaborating when possible. Unfortunately, not only has the Trump administration failed to take the opportunity presented by the pandemic to work with China in a mutually beneficial fashion and stabilize the relationship, it has use the opportunity to instead drive the relationship to worst in 40 years. Trump is doing this in service of his reelection bid, the Cold Warriors in his administration are taking advantage to force the confrontation they believe to be inevitable, and better sooner than later…
Facebones
Jesus Tapdancing Christ, who in the world would voluntarily go on a cruise ship right now? They’re petri dishes when there’s not a pandemic!
Sloane Ranger
Latest UK figures just up on the Government’s site. A total of 950 new cases have been reported (these will include those for Scotland Robert Sneddon put up earlier) 49 new deaths.
There is definitely an upwards trend in new cases. My local paper reported yesterday that my town is now on a watch list because of a significant growth of new cases, (7 yesterday and 20 over the last 6 days compared with an average of 5 and a bit over the previous 4 weeks) which they have been unable to trace to any specific location or event. Worrying, but not unexpected. I went into the town centre on Tuesday and more and more people are starting to ignore the mask mandate. I am moving back to online shopping.
Sab
NE Ohio. Most of the city schools are going online only. The suburban schools want to reopen. However, due to limited testing resources it’s almost impossible to get kids under 18 tested. How can this possibly work?