- HealthYahoo News
CDC's 'disease detectives' are on the coronavirus case
While the Washington State Department of Health had prepared a plan for the arrival of the virus that detailed how the state would obtain tests from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, what type of messaging it would release to citizens and how it would train staff at local health centers to handle the virus, it assumed it still had weeks before the disease would reach the U.S. To anticipate events like the coronavirus pandemic, the CDC established the Epidemic Intelligence Service, its elite “disease detective” training program. Over the course of two years, EIS officers receive immersive, on-the-job training — either at CDC headquarters, where they're assigned to focus on specific disease areas, or at state and local health departments around the country — to investigate every aspect of an outbreak like this one.
- U.S.Yahoo News
Liberty University students choose sides after fallout from coronavirus reporting
The New York Times reported this week that almost a dozen Liberty University students have come down with COVID-19 symptoms since the school reopened last week, according to a bombshell article published Sunday that cites a local physician in Lynchburg, Va., where the evangelical university is situated. “We've lost the ability to corral this thing,” Dr. Thomas W. Eppes Jr. said he told Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr., according to the article. The Times identified Eppes as the head of the school's student health service, but he does not appear on the Liberty University website and a school spokesman told Yahoo News he has no official connection to the university.
- WorldReuters
China's Shenzhen bans the eating of cats and dogs after coronavirus
The Chinese city of Shenzhen has banned the eating of dogs and cats as part of a wider clampdown on the wildlife trade since the emergence of the new coronavirus. Scientists suspect the coronavirus passed to humans from animals. Some of the earliest infections were found in people who had exposure to a wildlife market in the central city of Wuhan, where bats, snakes, civets and other animals were sold.
- WorldBloomberg
Trump Threatens ‘Heavy Price’ If Iran Attacks U.S. Troops
President Donald Trump warned Iran against what he said was a possible “sneak attack” the Islamic Republic was planning against U.S. troops in Iraq. Trump indicated in a tweet that the U.S. had “information” about a possible attack but didn't elaborate. He said Iran would pay a “very heavy price” if there's an attack.
- U.S.The Daily Beast
PA Man ‘Upset Over Coronavirus’ Shoots Girlfriend Before Turning Gun on Himself: Cops
A Pennsylvania man “extremely upset” about losing his job amidst the coronavirus pandemic allegedly shot his girlfriend, before turning the gun on himself in an attempted murder-suicide, authorities said Wednesday. The Wilson Borough Police Department said in a statement to The Daily Beast that Roderick Bliss IV, 38, attempted to fatally shoot his girlfriend with a semi-automatic pistol on Monday afternoon, before dying by suicide, after he “had become increasingly upset over the COVID-19 pandemic. The 43-year-old girlfriend, who was shot once in the back, survived the attack and is in St. Luke's hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
WorldAFPNorth Korea insists it is free of coronavirus
North Korea remains totally free of the coronavirus, a senior health official in Pyongyang has insisted, despite mounting scepticism overseas as confirmed global infections near one million. The already isolated, nuclear-armed North quickly shut down its borders after the virus was first detected in neighbouring China in January, and imposed strict containment measures. Pak Myong Su, director of the anti-epidemic department of the North's Central Emergency Anti-epidemic Headquarters, insisted that the efforts had been completely successful.
- LifestyleBusiness Insider
How the coronavirus death toll compares to other pandemics, including SARS, HIV, and the Black Death
The viral illness is extremely contagious, and spreads from person to person easily through close contact. The most severe coronavirus cases (20%) often include difficulty breathing, and may require hospitalization, where patients may be hooked up to ventilators, which help blow more oxygen into a person's lungs. The novel coronavirus has already killed more than 3,000 people in China, 9,000 in Spain, 12,000 in Italy, and it isn't done yet.
- StyleArchitectural Digest
12 Buildings That Show the Beauty of Deconstructed Architecture
From Zaha Hadid's majestic MAXII in Italy to the stunning beauty of Frank Gehry's Vitra Design Museum, these structures elevate the environment they were built in Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- WorldNBC News
Differing death tolls in California and Louisiana hint at the urgency to 'flatten the curve'
The two states have instituted increasingly restrictive measures and are among the 23 states with stay-at-home orders. Both states are led by Democratic governors who have earned praise from President Donald Trump for their response to the crisis. The disease is still spreading in both states, and the number of new cases and deaths reported each day is still climbing.
- U.S.Associated Press
Gun background checks smash records amid coronavirus fears
Background checks required to buy firearms have spiked to record numbers in the past month, fueled by a run on guns from Americans worried about their safety during the coronavirus crisis. According to figures from the FBI, 3.7 million background checks were done in March — the most for a single month since the system began in 1998. Background checks are the key barometer of gun sales, but the FBI's monthly figures also incorporate checks for firearm permits that are required in some states.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Navy says it can't empty Roosevelt amid coronavirus because of its weapons, nuclear reactor
WASHINGTON – The coronavirus outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt escalated Wednesday as more sailors tested positive for the virus and U.S. Navy officials scrambled to respond to the desperate evacuation plea from the aircraft carrier's captain. As of midday Wednesday, 93 crew members had tested positive for the virus, and 593 tested negative, Thomas Modly, acting Secretary of the Navy, told reporters during a briefing Wednesday. There are approximately 5,000 crew members on board.
- U.S.Reuters
Exclusive: How elite U.S. college students brought COVID-19 home from campus
Forty-four students at the University of Texas at Austin tested positive for the disease after returning from spring break in Mexico, according to a state university spokeswoman. In March, the University of Tampa said five students traveling together during spring break had tested positive. In a statement, Vanderbilt said: "Just as for our peers around the country, COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges for our community as we have sought, above all, to protect the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff.
- BusinessNational Review
McConnell Urges Pelosi to Abandon Effort to Use Coronavirus Relief Bill to Achieve Unrelated Policy Goals
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell dismissed attempts by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to spearhead talks about a fourth coronavirus relief bill, saying that she should “stand down” on the proposal. “She needs to stand down on the notion that we're going to go along with taking advantage of the crisis to do things that are unrelated to the crisis,” McConnell said, calling the speaker's suggestions about fourth relief bill “premature.” The Senate majority leader's remarks come a week after Congress passed a massive $2 trillion stimulus package to offset the economic destruction caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which continues to spread across the country, causing businesses to shutter and lay off workers.
WorldYahoo News VideoIran warns U.S. over Iraq deployment amid virus
On Wednesday Iran warned the U.S. it was “warmongering during the coronavirus outbreak,” after it deployed Patriot air defense missiles to Iraq.
- WorldThe Week
China is bracing for a second wave of coronavirus
A Chinese county that was largely unscathed by the novel COVID-19 coronavirus went into lockdown Wednesday, signaling fears of a possible second wave in the country where the virus originated, The South China Morning Post reports. The county of Jia in Henan province, home to 600,000 people, is now in lockdown after infections reportedly spread at a local hospital. There were previously only 12 confirmed cases in Henan, despite it being situated just north of Hubei province, where China's epicenter, Wuhan, is located.
- BusinessBusiness Insider
Tesla is shipping FDA-approved ventilators to hospitals around the world free of charge during the coronavirus pandemic
Uwe Anspach/dpa/Getty Images Tesla CEO Elon Musk is offering to ship to hospitals a critical piece of medical equipment in short supply during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic: ventilators. "We have extra FDA-approved ventilators," Musk wrote on Twitter this week. "Will ship to hospitals worldwide within Tesla delivery regions.
WorldAFPJapan expands ban on visitors as virus cases climb
Japan will bar visitors from the United States, China and most of Europe, the prime minister said Wednesday, as the country seeks to stem a recent rise in coronavirus cases. The entry ban, which will also apply to Australia, Britain, South Korea and many Southeast Asia countries, will take effect on Friday, Shinzo Abe's government said. Japan had already barred arrivals from parts of several European nations, China and South Korea.
- U.S.The Guardian
California appears to be flattening the curve. But its testing lags behind other states
California has not seen the surge in coronavirus cases that have overwhelmed cities like New York and Detroit in the past week, which suggests that the state's early and restrictive shelter-in-place orders could be slowing the virus's spread. California implemented one of the earliest and strictest orders to stay at home in the United States in mid-March, and as of Wednesday, there were 8,584 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 183 deaths in the state compared with the 76,000 cases and 1,714 deaths in New York. Dr Deborah Birx, the White House's coronavirus taskforce coordinator, said on Tuesday that she was “reassured by what California has been able to do” to help control the virus with physical distancing orders.
- WorldAssociated Press
Iran parliament speaker, Israeli health minister have virus
Iran's parliament speaker has contracted the new coronavirus, the country's highest-ranking government figure yet to catch the disease, while in Israel, several top officials entered quarantine when the health minister tested positive on Thursday. Iran's parliament announced Ali Larijani's illness on its website, saying he was receiving treatment in quarantine. Iran, the regional epicenter of the virus, has been fighting one of the world's worst outbreaks.
- SportsUSA TODAY
Coronavirus live updates: US toll tops 5,100 after deadliest day yet; Florida, 3 other states issue stay-at-home orders; CDC considers masks
The U.S. recorded its deadliest day – more than 1,000 fatalities – since the coronavirus outbreak began, more than 215,000 overall infections have been reported, and public health officials may recommend that more Americans wear face masks to combat the pandemic that has brought the global economy to its knees. "Even if you do wear a mask, it can't be at the expense of social distancing," Surgeon General Jerome Adams said. The current U.S. death toll appears to be a tiny fraction of what the nation faces over the next few weeks, public health officials say.
- HealthINSIDER
3 people who survived the coronavirus describe what it's like and what they wish they would have known
Juan Perez, Amy Bobchek, Marcus Ferreira were all diagnosed with COVID-19 in March. "I really wanted to work during my sickness," Perez told Insider. Ferreira, a 20-year-old sophomore at Vanderbilt University, is already back to his normal schedule, studying and taking exams, from home.
- BusinessNBC News
Senators call on IRS to automatically send stimulus checks to seniors
More than three dozen Democratic senators are pressuring the Trump administration to rescind or clarify new guidance that tells seniors to file a tax return to receive a stimulus payment. Led by Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, the senators wrote a letter Wednesday taking issue with IRS guidelines that say seniors who don't submit returns "will need to file a simple tax return to receive an economic impact payment" under the coronavirus package. The agency mentioned Social Security recipients in that category, which has caused confusion among some elderly Americans — an estimated 64 million Americans received Social Security benefits last year, and many aren't required to file tax returns.
- WorldReuters
Indonesia virus death toll rises to highest in Asia outside China
Indonesia's coronavirus death toll rose to 170 on Thursday as the world's fourth most populous nation passed South Korea as the country with the highest number of recorded fatalities in Asia after China. Indonesia reported a further 13 deaths and 113 new cases, taking its total number of infections to 1,790. South Korea has reported 169 deaths and 9,976 infections, according to the latest figures released there.
- WorldThe Week
China under-reported coronavirus cases and deaths, U.S. intelligence reportedly concludes
There has been some skepticism about China's reporting on the novel COVID-19 coronavirus for some time, especially as smaller countries like Italy surged past the world's most populous nation in both overall cases and deaths. On Wednesday, U.S. intelligence officials told Bloomberg on condition of anonymity that the skepticism is valid. Per Bloomberg, the U.S. intelligence community reportedly concluded in a classified document that China, where the pandemic originated, has under-reported its totals.
- BusinessBusiness Insider
American Airlines crammed the only 11 passengers on a flight into 3 rows because they only bought basic economy, report says
American Airlines forced passengers to sit next to each other even though their flight was virtually empty, according to a report by Mother Jones. The incident took place on a flight on March 24, which had only 11 passengers, all in basic economy, according to the outlet, citing an unnamed flight attendant. Although there were plenty of seats, none were moved because "that would be an upgrade," according to a flight attendant on the plane, who did not give their name.
