The Daily 5: COVID-19 testing, RPS boundaries, pool reopening, Biden vaccines, Twolves improving
May 5—Do COVID-19 tests exaggerate the number of positive cases?
Fears that COVID-19 testing has exaggerated the number of infected people were discussed during a recent media call with scientists from Mayo Clinic Laboratories.
Beginning last summer and re-emerging in January, skeptics have asserted that COVID-19 testing uses too many rounds of so-called amplification cycles while searching for viruses.
They liken it to a process of scraping the barrel for signs of illness, over-scrutiny that can ultimately misidentify harmless remnant particles from previous illness or exposure as active infections.
Read the full story by Paul John Scott here.
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Tuesday's high school scores
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Tuesday's high school highlights
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Avery Steffen uses 17 punchouts to outduel Cocker in Z-M's 1-0 win over Byron
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Photos: Stewartville, Byron baseball
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Photos: Mayo, Mankato East boys tennis
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Adolis Garcia homer in 10th leads Rangers past Twins
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Rochester Public Schools narrows in on new boundaries
Rochester Public Schools is narrowing in on a decision for its new boundaries, which will determine what elementary, middle and high school buildings students attend based on their residences.
John Carlson, executive director of finances for RPS, provided an update on Tuesday to the school board on the boundary-change process. In addition to working with a consulting firm on the process, the district compiled a committee to determine what the new boundaries should be based on the various factors.
Earlier this month, the district released a website where the public could see where the boundaries would be under three different outcomes. The public then was able to leave feedback on the different proposals.
Read the full story by Jordan Shearer here.
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Silver Lake pool reopening on track
Unanimous Rochester City Council support for reopening the Silver Lake Park pool was met with a more tepid response from the city's Park Board on Tuesday.
"It's a one-year fix," said Park Board President Linnea Archer. "We are not really fixing Silver Lake pool, we are just opening it up with duct tape and Band-Aids so it is open."
Following a 95-minute discussion, the Park Board voted 4-1 to support a plan adopted by the City Council's proposal to spend $95,000 to reopen and operate the pool that has been closed since the end of the 2019 season.
Read the full story by Randy Petersen here.
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Today's weather
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Biden aims for 70% of U.S. adults to get one vaccine dose by July 4
President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced a goal to vaccinate 70% of U.S. adults with at least one COVID-19 shot by the July 4 Independence Day holiday and said the government would innoculate 12- to 15-year-olds as soon as allowed.
The president, who has made fighting the coronavirus a key priority of his administration, had previously announced July 4 as a target date for Americans to gather in small groups to celebrate the holiday and signal a return to greater normalcy in the middle of the pandemic.
Biden's new goal takes into account an increasing, though not unexpected, challenge of getting shots into the arms of people who are hesitant about the vaccine.
Read the full story here.
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What to watch as the suddenly improved Timberwolves close out their season
Finally, the Minnesota Timberwolves had an opportunity to catch their collective breaths over the past three days. Nearing the end of a long, yet compact NBA regular season, Minnesota found itself with three consecutive off days in the schedule.
That allowed Minnesota to practice — a foreign concept this season — not once, but twice ahead of Wednesday's tilt with Memphis.
"It was great. (Monday), we got up and down, we scrimmaged a lot," Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said. "(Tuesday) was a little bit more of a breakdown day. I think the guys are excited to get back to work on the floor, though."
Read the full story here.
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