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September 24, 2020 10:21 AM

Live updates on COVID-19: July 1-15

Modern Healthcare
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    3 areas CMS is eyeing to assess telemed expansion

    8:11 PM CT on 7/15/20

    Three considerations are driving CMS' review on which COVID-19 telemedicine flexibilities should be made permanent fixtures, according to agency Administrator Seema Verma.

    To inform those decisions—which lawmakers and HHS officials alike have hinted at in recent weeks—CMS is using data collected on telemedicine use during the pandemic, she wrote in a blog post for Health Affairs.

    "CMS is reviewing the flexibilities the administration has introduced and their early impact on Medicare beneficiaries to inform whether these changes should be made a permanent part of the Medicare program," Verma wrote.

    She noted that, in the last week of April, nearly 1.7 million fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries received telemedicine services, up from roughly 13,000 beneficiaries that received telemedicine services per week before the public health emergency. In total, more than 9 million beneficiaries have received a telemedicine service during the pandemic.

    More than 3 million, or one-third, of those beneficiaries completed their telemedicine visit with a traditional telephone—so audio-only, without a video component.

    The three key areas Verma said CMS is evaluating as it reviews the data:

    1. Which types of telemedicine services are clinically appropriate and safe for particular patient needs; for example, whether patients with particularly acute needs still receive high-quality care if their first visit with a provider is via telemedicine, rather than in-person.
    2. How to set appropriate Medicare payment rates for telemedicine services, given that some supply costs that are built in to the in-person payment rate—such as for patient gowns and disinfectants—are not needed, while other new processes might have higher associated costs.
    3. Figuring out how to root out fraud, chiefly by monitoring claims data to identify providers who might be offering shorter telemedicine visits to maximize payment or billing more visits than could feasibly be completed in a day.

    Nursing homes allow visits in NY, but few can open doors

    6:07 PM CT on 7/15/20

    (AP) New York began to allow people to visit loved ones—with restrictions—at nursing homes Wednesday, but few homes have opened their doors.

    Just 22 of more than 600 nursing homes in New York have submitted needed safety plans to allow limited visits, according to the state Department of Health. And it's unclear just how many of them started allowing visits Wednesday.

    Only nursing homes and long-term care facilities without any coronavirus cases among residents and staffers in the last 28 days can allow limited visits, under a plan announced  by State Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker on Friday. Zucker's agency had estimated that as many of one-fourth of the state's nursing homes could qualify under that metric.

    New York State Health Facilities Association President & CEO Stephen Hanse said the 28-day requirement is tough for nursing homes with large staffs.

    Northwell Health spokesperson Barbara Osborn said the health care system plans to allow outside-only visits starting Monday at its two nursing homes on Long Island. She said both facilities have been COVID-free for 28 days, and that the system plans to submit its plans to the state this week.


    Alabama to require face masks as coronavirus surges in state

    4:19 PM CT on 7/15/20

    (AP) Alabama will begin requiring face masks in public as health officials try to quell a surge of new coronavirus cases that is filling up hospitals, Gov. Kay Ivey said Wednesday.

    In an announcement made a day after the state reported a pandemic-high of 40 deaths in a single day, officials said masks would be required starting Thursday afternoon for anyone older than 6 who's in public and within 6 feet (2 meters) of someone who's not a relative.

    The rule, which makes exceptions for people who have certain medical conditions, are exercising, or performing certain types of jobs, will last through July 31, meaning it is set to expire before most public schools reopen. But other health orders have been extended to fight COVID-19, the illness caused by the new virus.

    Ivey said statistics showing a precipitous rise in confirmed coronavirus cases in Alabama over the past two weeks "just do not lie."

    "We're almost to the point where our hospital ICUs are overwhelmed," Ivey told a news conference at the Capitol.

    The governor previously pleaded for residents to show "personal responsibility" in fighting the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Ivey declined to impose new restrictions as recently as June 30, when she said a statewide mask order would be "next to impossible" to enforce.

    Violating the new order can result in a fine of $500 and jail time, Ivey said, although she stressed that protecting residents, not imposing penalties, is the goal.

    "We're pleading with the people of Alabama to wear a mask," she said. Businesses aren't required to refuse entry to people not wearing masks, but Ivey says the order allows them to do so as a "reasonable step" for encouraging mask use.


    HHS will distribute rapid tests to nursing homes in COVID-19 hot spots

    3:00 PM CT on 7/15/20

    HHS plans to buy and distribute rapid point-of-care diagnostic test equipment and tests to nursing homes in COVID-19 hot spots, the agency said Tuesday.

    Starting next week, the agency will give out one diagnostic test instrument and related tests to each nursing home. CMS will prioritize which facilities receive the equipment and in what order.

    “With the recent FDA Emergency Use Authorization of the BD Veritor system, combined with the earlier authorization of the Quidel Sofia and Sofia 2 systems, we now have the ability to provide more testing faster,” HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Brett Giroir said in a statement.

    Nursing homes will be able to get more tests directly from the manufacturers after the first distribution.


    Survey finds only 16% of large employers have finished back-to-work transition

    2:05 PM CT on 7/15/20

    Only 16% of large employers have completed their plans to transition employees back to work, according to an Optum survey.

    The online survey asked 200 human resource professionals at companies with more than 3,000 workers about their transition plans in early June. Two-thirds of those employers said they were in the process of moving back to work, while 19% said they hadn’t begun their transition plans. However, 89% of employers who hadn’t started or completed the transition said they would finish in the next 90 days.

    To ease the transition, 63% said they already have plans to provide workers with personal protective equipment, while 25% said they’re currently working to implement plans. More than half of workplaces said they have behavioral health resources already in place, and 33% are working to implement resources.


    More than 150 countries sign up for global vaccine plan

    11:43 AM on 7/15/20

    (AP) More than 70 rich countries have signed up to a global coronavirus vaccine initiative intended to ensure that any effective shots are fairly distributed around the world - but which may also allow them to buy more vaccines to stockpile for their own citizens.

    In a statement on Wednesday, the vaccines alliance Gavi reported that 75 countries have said they would join its new "Covax facility" along with another 90 low-income countries that hope to receive donated vaccines. The Associated Press reported this week that the Gavi initiative may allow rich countries to reinforce their own coronavirus vaccine supplies while leaving fewer doses available for more vulnerable populations.

    When Gavi approached donor countries last month, it advertised the plan as an "insurance policy" for rich countries that have already struck deals with drugmakers for experimental COVID-19 vaccines.

    Gavi told donor governments that when an effective inoculation is found within its pool of COVID-19 candidates, all countries will receive enough to cover 20% of their populations, including rich countries that may have their own stockpiles. It said countries would be encouraged, but not required, to give up any doses they might not need.

    "For the vast majority of countries, whether they can afford to pay for their own doses or require assistance, it means receiving a guaranteed share of doses and avoiding being pushed to the back of the queue," Gavi CEO Seth Berkley said in a statement.

    Dozens of vaccines are being researched, and some countries — including Britain, France, Germany and the United States — already have ordered hundreds of millions of doses before the vaccines are even proven to work.

    Critics say offering rich countries the chance to buy even more vaccines through Gavi essentially allows them to hoard limited COVID-19 vaccines without consequences.

    Gavi CEO Berkley acknowledged there was no enforcement mechanism, but he said the alliance would be speaking with rich countries to propose possible solutions.

    Gavi said the 165 countries that have expressed interest represent about 60% of the world's population. The alliance is aiming to raise $2 billion to buy COVID-19 vaccines.


    Related Article
    Global vaccine plan may allow rich countries to buy more

    Markets rally worldwide on rising hopes for COVID-19 vaccine

    9:44 AM CT on 7/15/20

    (AP) Wall Street is rallying in early Wednesday trading on hopes that researchers are getting closer to finding a vaccine that works for COVID-19.

    Investors see a vaccine as the best way for the economy and human life to get back to normal. The S&P 500 was 0.8% higher in its first trading after researchers said early-stage testing for one made by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna revved up people's immune systems, as hoped.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 261 points, or 1%, at 26,904, as of 10:04 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.6%. Moderna itself jumped 10.9%, and the S&P 500 climbed back within 5% of its record set in February.

    Companies that would benefit most from a return to normal life led the way, such as those that sell tickets for cruises, flights and concerts. Winners of the stay-at-home economy created by quarantines and lockdowns, meanwhile, lagged behind. Clorox and Netflix both fell.

    Stocks also climbed across Europe and much of Asia, while Treasury yields rose in another sign of improved confidence.

    Upbeat corporate earnings were helping support markets, "But the cherry on top has to be the positive virus vaccine update as optimism on the vaccine is more than a show stopper. It's the ultimate recession stopper," Stephen Innes of AxiCorp said in a commentary.

    Of course, the stock market has made other big jumps recently following encouraging data on other potential vaccines or treatments, only to fall back again as coronavirus counts keep climbing. Nearly two dozen possible COVID-19 vaccines are in various stages of human testing around the world, all of which still need to prove themselves.


    McConnell says GOP virus proposal for schools, others out soon

    8:19 PM CT on 7/14/20

    (AP) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday he'll begin to roll out details of the new COVID-19 relief package to senators as soon as next week and suggested it will include new funding for school reopenings, some unemployment benefits and money for health care providers.

    Expected to hit $1 trillion, the emerging Republican package shows shifting priorities as the pandemic crisis deepens nationwide. Once reluctant to approve more aid, Republicans and the White House now say more is needed.

    In recent days, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has been reaching out to GOP senators ahead of negotiations with Democrats, who already approved a $3 trillion House bill.

    McConnell, during a visit to a hospital in his home state of Kentucky, said the theme of the upcoming GOP bill will be children and schools, jobs and unemployment, and healthcare.

    Congress is returning Monday for two weeks to consider fresh coronavirus relief as the Trump administration has been unable to halt the virus' deepening spread across the country. Asked at an earlier event Tuesday if he would be attending next month's Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, Florida, a state with record-setting cases, McConnell said his “current intention" is to go, but that he would assess closer to the date.

    While McConnell wanted to hit “pause” after the last big relief package in May, he now hopes to swiftly approve the new one in hopes of staunching the pandemic crisis and economic fallout.

    Speaking at the White House, President Donald Trump said, “We have to get everything open."

    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned that, without a comprehensive federal strategy for the country, the devastating virus and its economic toll will only persist.

    “We can open our economy, we can open our schools, if we test, trace, treat, separate, mask, hygiene and the rest, but we have to make a national decision to do it,” Pelosi said on CNN.


    Trump administration plans point-of-care testing for nursing homes

    8:19 PM CT on 7/14/20

    (AP) The Trump administration Tuesday announced plans to provide point of care coronavirus testing in nursing homes across the country to help ease the burden on overwhelmed testing sites and avoid backlogged results.

    Vice President Mike Pence announced the new testing initiative during a visit to Louisiana.

    CMS Administrator Seema Verma says the rapid response tests will be used for nursing home employees on a weekly basis as well as for some patient testing.

    The administration estimated the effort would provide 4 million to 5 million tests per month.


    Michigan gov. extends state of emergency as COVID-19 cases continue to rise

    7:30 PM CT on 7/14/20

    (Crain's Detroit Business) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday extended Michigan's coronavirus state of emergency by another four weeks to Aug. 11 as the state's total case count for the virus topped 70,000.

    State health officials reported 584 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and six deaths.

    The seven-day rolling average number of new cases is now 525, triple the average case count on June 14. Michigan's low point in average daily cases over a seven-day period was 150 on June 13 and peaked at more than 1,600 on April 7.

    Michigan hospitals also are reporting an uptick in the number of COVID-19 patients they're treating.

    On Monday, there were 415 patients being treated for the virus in Michigan hospitals, a 32 percent increase from the low point of 315 patients on July 2 and the highest daily bed count since June 10, a Crain's analysis shows.

    On April 12, the height of the spring outbreaks of the virus, there were 3,986 people hospitalized for COVID-19, according to state health records.

    "COVID-19 has now killed more than 6,000 people in Michigan," Whitmer said in a statement. "That's more than 6,000 of our parents, grandparents, friends and neighbors. And the rising numbers we've seen over the past few weeks prove that this virus is still a very real threat in our state."


    Kansas' largest city worries about running short of ICU beds

    5:39 PM CT on 7/14/20

    (AP) Officials in the Wichita area worry that a continued resurgence of novel coronavirus cases will force hospitals in Kansas' largest city to scramble for new intensive care unit beds to treat the seriously sick.

    County Manager Tom Stolz told Sedgwick County Commissioners on Tuesday that if current hospitalization trends and use of ICU beds for coronavirus patients continues into next week, it's likely the situation will be deemed “critical.” The county health department reported that eight of the 35 ICU beds available for coronavirus patients were open as of Monday.

    Stolz's comments came after Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple tweeted Monday that Wichita hospitals could reach capacity within three weeks.

    The county manager said area hospitals can add new intensive care unit beds “on the fly” but that staffing is under pressure because employees have tested positive for the virus. The pandemic has made an existing shortage of nurses in the Wichita area more serious, he told county commissioners.

    “It's stressing their staff to the point that they are concerned,” Stolz said. “It's all bad news this week.”

    Kansas surpassed 20,000 reported coronavirus cases as of Monday and its health department reported 288 COVID-19-related deaths, though Johns Hopkins University on Tuesday put the tally at 299.

    Kansas lifted statewide restrictions on businesses and public gatherings on May 26, leaving the rules to the state's 105 counties. Since then, reported coronavirus cases have more than doubled, with a little more than half of the new cases coming during the two weeks ending Monday. The state's rate of positive tests also has inched up.


    S.C. hospitals struggle with staffing as COVID-19 cases rise

    3:25 PM CT on 7/14/20

    (AP) South Carolina hospitals are short-staffed and low on testing supplies in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic, administrators told U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham on Tuesday, as the state saw its second-highest daily number of new confirmed cases.

    After a briefing with the South Carolina Hospital Association, Graham told reporters he would push to speed up testing, secure money for hospitals to replace lost revenue and ensure schools have the means to reopen safely this fall as Congress works on its next phase of federal pandemic relief. Graham also called for tax credits for U.S. production of personal protective equipment and liability reform to protect hospitals caring for COVID-19 patients from litigation.

    Cases in the state have spiked since Memorial Day weekend. Health officials reported 2,205 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 23 additional deaths Tuesday, totaling 60,220 confirmed cases and 984 deaths since the pandemic began. Experts say official counts likely capture only a portion of those who have been infected.

    Hospitals are facing several major obstacles, including concerns that those inland may not have enough beds to take on patient transfers from hot spots such as in Myrtle Beach, said Thornton Kirby, the state hospital association's CEO.

    Contact tracers have found staffers who test positive are being infected not at work but through community spread, Kirby said. Employees exposed to the virus cannot work before receiving their test results, a lag that also decreases the number of staff — and therefore beds — available.

    Patients who have tested positive or are under investigation for COVID-19 now occupy 1,550 of the state's 7,976 hospital beds in use, with 203 COVID-19 patients on ventilators.

    At least one hospital system has suspended elective surgeries this month to free up staff for COVID-19 patients. The state hospital association has estimated it will lose a total of $2.3 billion in unreimbursed COVID-related costs and revenues by the end of the year.

    Graham emphasized Tuesday that schools should reopen this fall, calling for more testing to help ensure they do so safely.


    Human clinical trials begin for Quebec-made COVID-19 vaccine candidate

    2:48 PM CT on 7/14/20

    (Canadian Press) Canadian trials have just begun for a prospective COVID-19 vaccine but its Quebec-based manufacturer is already downplaying its potential impact.

    Dr. Bruce Clark, president and CEO of the biopharmaceutical company Medicago, cautions observers against holding unrealistic expectations that his product — or any of the numerous vaccines in development globally — will bring the pandemic to a screeching halt.

    "Whatever vaccine we get in this first round — unless it's a miracle — it's not going to be perfect," says Clark, whose company began trials for its proposed vaccine Monday in Quebec City.

    "It's going to have to undergo development, it's going to take probably years to come up with an understanding of the right vaccine, the right approach. It's not the panacea.

    "To assume that we can have, in 18 months, the solution to a pandemic that comes around once in a generation, is naive."

    So much is still unknown about COVID-19, notes Clark, including how it may manifest during the flu season later this year.

    He suspects a more likely scenario is that a vaccine will offer only part of the solution, along with new therapeutics and ongoing public health interventions.

    Medicago's first phase of clinical trials will test a plant-based product on 180 healthy men and women, aged 18 to 55.

    The randomized, partially blinded study uses technology that does not involve animal products or live viruses like traditional methods.


    Arizona COVID-19 cases rise; record hospitalizations seen

    1:37 PM CT on 7/14/20

    (AP) Arizona on Tuesday tallied thousands more confirmed COVID-19 cases as the state again reported an all-time high in hospitalizations due to the disease.

    The state Department of Health of Services said the 4,273 additional cases increased the statewide total to 128,097. However, the number of cases could be far higher because many people have not been tested and some can be infected without feeling sick.

    Arizona once again reported record numbers of hospital beds, intensive care beds and ventilators in use. Just over 3,500 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, about a quarter of them in intensive care. The state reported 92 additional deaths, bringing a slight dip in the seven-day moving average from 62 daily deaths to 59.

    Arizona's death toll from COVID-19 rose to 2,337.

    Arizona became a national coronavirus hotspot after Gov. Doug Ducey in May relaxed stay-at-home orders and other restrictions. Ducey since has closed gyms and bars and limited restaurants' capacity and many local governments have imposed masking requirements.


    Healthcare groups call on governors to limit nursing home COVID-19 outbreaks

    12:43 PM CT on 7/14/20

    The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living sent a letter Tuesday to the National Governors Association and state governors requesting that action be taken at the state level to limit COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes and assisted living facilities in light of the increase in new cases and community spread across the U.S. 

    “Given the fact that the level of COVID in the community surrounding a nursing home is a leading indicator of cases in the facility, the major spikes of COVID cases in many states comes at a very challenging time as many states plan the reopening of long-term care facilities and return of visitations from loved ones,” the letter reads.

    The groups request: faster lab processing times for on-site testing; direct help securing more personal protective equipment, especially N-95 masks; and coordination on restarting visitation at long-term care facilities.  


    Miami becoming 'epicenter' of coronavirus outbreak

    11:02 AM CT on 7/14/20

    (AP) Florida's rapidly increasing number of coronavirus cases is turning Miami into the “epicenter of the pandemic,” a top doctor warned Monday, while an epidemiologist called the region's situation “extremely grave.”

    Those assessments came as Florida recorded more than 12,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases Monday after a record-setting weekend, a spike that partly reflects the larger number of tests being performed but also a high percentage of those returning positive. The state set a national record with more than 15,000 cases reported Sunday.

    Gov. Ron DeSantis acknowledged Monday that the disease is spreading and urged people to take precautions such as wearing masks in public places, social distancing and avoiding crowds.

    “We have to address the virus with steady resolve. We can’t get swept away in fear, we have to understand what is going on, understand that we have a long road ahead but we also have to understand that within the context of the moment,” he said during a Miami press conference.

    While the outbreak has been spreading through much of the state, it has hit South Florida particularly hard, both now and throughout the pandemic. Its three counties — Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach — make up about a quarter of the state's population but have been responsible for about half the new cases.

    Florida International University epidemiologist Dr. Aileen Marty called the region's situation “extremely grave,” saying the public is not taking this virus seriously enough, ignoring the guidelines DeSantis and others have been pushing.

    “They have not adhered to guidelines,” Marty said at an online press conference with Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez. “They have been in those closed spaces without taking the appropriate precautions, and that’s the main reason we are where we are.”

    The chief for infection prevention at Jackson Health System, Dr. Lilian Abbo, described nurses and doctors working around the clock and some getting sick.

    “We really need to work on this together,” she said. “Miami is now the epicenter of the pandemic. What we were seeing in Wuhan (China) six months ago. Now, we are there.”

    There's at least one glimmer of hope for Florida overall: The positivity rate for tests has been just over 11% the last two days. That is still four times the 2.3% rate the state had in late May, but a drop from the near 20% of last week. Officials have said they want to get the rate below 5%, which is when they believe spread is less likely and measures are taking hold.


    Pence heads to Louisiana amid renewed surge in virus cases

    9:03 AM CT on 7/14/20

    (AP) Vice President Mike Pence travels Tuesday to Louisiana, which has reemerged as one of the nation's hot spots for the coronavirus only months after seeming to contain its outbreak.

    The Republican vice president was scheduled to meet with Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, members of the congressional delegation and state health officials to talk about the state’s response to the COVID-19 disease caused by the coronavirus.

    Pence's visit comes as Louisiana's confirmed virus cases, percentage of positive tests and COVID-19 patient hospitalization rates are surging — worrying public health experts about the level of virus spread in a state that previously appeared successful in combating its outbreak.

    “Louisiana has been on the radar, literally front and center, of the White House Coronavirus Task Force since the very beginning. We’ve never come off of that radar,” Edwards said. “I think that’s a big reason why the vice president chose to come to Baton Rouge and to Louisiana.”

    In response to the spike in virus cases and hospitalizations, the Democratic governor enacted a statewide mask mandate for people ages 8 and older that took effect Monday. He also returned bars to take-out and delivery only. Restaurants, casinos, gyms, salons and other businesses remain open with occupancy restrictions.

    While in Baton Rouge, Pence also is planning a discussion at Louisiana State University’s Tiger Stadium focused on fall college reopening plans and the future of university sports programs in the pandemic. LSU’s Tigers won the college football national championship title in January.

    The Baton Rouge region is one of three metropolitan areas where federal officials recently set up new drive-thru coronavirus testing sites aimed at boosting testing to better track and fight the spread of COVID-19. The federally supported sites in Louisiana's capital city region will remain up and running through July 18.


    White House undercuts Fauci as Trump downplays severity of COVID-19 pandemic

    8:12 PM CT on 7/13/2020

    (AP) With U.S. virus cases spiking and the death toll mounting, the White House is working to undercut its most trusted coronavirus expert, playing down the danger as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes to get the economy moving before he faces voters in November.

    The U.S. has become a cautionary tale across the globe, with once-falling cases now spiraling. However, Trump suggests the severity of the pandemic that has killed more than 135,000 Americans is being overstated by critics to damage his chances of re-election.

    Trump on Monday retweeted a post by Chuck Woolery, once the host of TV's Love Connection. Woolery's tweet read: "Everyone is lying" about COVID-19 — not just the media and Democrats, but most doctors "that we are told to trust. I think it's all about the election and keeping the economy from coming back, which is about the election." 

    At the same time, the president and top White House aides are ramping up attacks against Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious diseases expert. Fauci has been increasingly sidelined by the White House as he sounds alarms about the virus, a most unwelcome message at a time when Trump is focused on pushing an economic rebound.

    "We haven't even begun to see the end of it yet," he said in a talk with the dean of Stanford's medical school Monday, calling for a "step back" in reopenings.

    Rosemary Barton asks the United States's top infectious disease expert about how his country has handled the pandemic and what's next. 8:31
    Last week, Fauci contradicted Trump about the severity of the virus during an episode of the FiveThirtyEight podcast. While Trump contends repeatedly that he has done a great job against the pandemic, Fauci said, "As a country, when you compare us to other countries, I don't think you can say we're doing great. I mean, we're just not."

    Trump later said Fauci had "made a lot of mistakes." He pointed to Fauci's early disagreement with him over the China travel ban and to the evolving guidance over the use of masks as scientists' understanding of the virus improved — points the White House expanded on in statements to media outlets over the weekend.


    California shuts bars, indoor dining and most gyms, churches

    6:02 PM CT on 7/13/2020

    (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday extended the closure of bars and indoor dining statewide and ordered gyms, churches and hair salons closed in most places as coronavirus cases keep rising in the nation's most populated state.

    On July 1, Newsom ordered 19 counties with a surging number of confirmed infections to close bars and indoor operations at restaurants, wineries, zoos and family entertainment centers like bowling alleys and miniature golf.

    The Democratic governor extended that order statewide Monday. He also imposed additional restrictions on the 30 counties now with rising numbers, including the most populated of Los Angeles and San Diego, by ordering worship services to stop and gyms, hair salons, indoor malls and offices for noncritical industries to shut down.

    “The data suggests not everybody is practicing common sense,” said Newsom, whose order takes effect immediately.

    He didn't include schools, which are scheduled to resume in a few weeks in much of the state. But Monday, the state's two largest school districts, San Diego and Los Angeles, announced their students would start the school year with online learning only. LA Unified is the second-largest public school district in the country.

    In March, California was the first state to issue a mandatory, statewide stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The order appeared to work as cases stabilized in the ensuing weeks while other states grappled with huge increases.

    But the order devastated the world's fifth-largest economy, with more than 7.5 million people filing for unemployment benefits. Newsom moved quickly to let most businesses reopen in May. Like other states that took similar steps, a subsequent rise in cases and hospitalizations led him to impose new restrictions this month.

    Newsom has compared his strategy of opening and closing businesses as a “dimmer switch,” highlighting the flexibility needed as public health officials monitor the virus's progress

    California confirmed 8,358 new coronavirus cases on Sunday. Cases have increased 47% over the past two weeks, while hospitalizations have jumped 28% during the same time period.

    Overall, California has reported more than 329,100 cases and more than 7,000 deaths, though infections are probably higher because some people don't show symptoms and there's a lack of testing.


    Judge: Women can get abortion pill without doctor visits

    4:06 PM CT on 7/13/20

    (AP) A federal judge agreed Monday to suspend a rule that requires women during the COVID-19 pandemic to visit a hospital, clinic or medical office to obtain an abortion pill.

    U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland concluded that the "in-person requirements" for patients seeking medication abortion care impose a "substantial obstacle" to abortion patients and are likely unconstitutional under the circumstances of the pandemic.

    "Particularly in light of the limited timeframe during which a medication abortion or any abortion must occur, such infringement on the right to an abortion would constitute irreparable harm," the judge wrote in his 80-page decision.

    Chuang's ruling will allow healthcare providers to arrange for mifepristone to be mailed or delivered to patients during the public health emergency declared by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone to be used in combination with a second drug, misoprostol, to end an early pregnancy or manage a miscarriage.

    "By causing certain patients to decide between forgoing or substantially delaying abortion care, or risking exposure to COVID-19 for themselves, their children, and family members, the In-Person Requirements present a serious burden to many abortion patients," Chuang wrote.

    The states of Indiana, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma had asked to intervene in the lawsuit. The 10 states argued that the case could impact how they enforce their own state laws that relate to or reference the FDA's regulation of mifepristone.

    Chuang rejected their request last month. The judge said the federal case would not eliminate any state's ability to continue to regulate abortion medication "above and beyond" the FDA's requirements.

    "Nevertheless, this is a tremendous victory for abortion patients and for science and common sense," said American Civil Liberties Union attorney Julia Kaye.

    The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other groups sued HHS and the FDA in May to challenge the rule. ACLU lawyers represent the groups.

    Skye Perryman, chief legal officer for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said the FDA's restrictions on mifepristone are not medically necessary and "do not advance the health and safety of patients."

    "Today's ruling recognizes the hardship and undue burden that many women have faced obtaining essential health care during the COVID-19 pandemic," Perryman said.

    Plaintiffs' attorneys argued that the FDA's in-person requirements infringe on a woman's constitutional rights to an abortion and violates the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment.

    Government lawyers have argued that the requirements are necessary to ensure that patients safely use mifepristone. The FDA rule requires patients to pick up the single tablet of mifepristone at a hospital, clinic or medical office and sign a form that includes information about the medication's potential risks.


    AAMC issues statement in support of Fauci

    2:56 PM CT on 7/13/20

    The Association of American Medical Colleges has issued a statement of support for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, after Trump advisers anonymously told news outlets that Facui’s statements early in the pandemic were incorrect.

    “As we are seeing from the surge in COVID-19 cases in areas that have reopened, science and facts—not wishful thinking or politics—must guide America’s response to this pandemic. This does not mean that scientific knowledge and recommendations will not change as our understanding of the virus grows,” AAMC CEO Dr. David J. Skorton and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Ross McKinney Jr. said in the statement. “To the contrary, a successful response depends on Dr. Fauci, his colleagues, and scientists throughout America’s system of medical research who are able to draw conclusions based on current observations and continuously adjust those conclusions based on continuing observations. Science is, and must be, a dynamic and evolving process.”

    Fauci has been critical of the United States’ response to the pandemic.

    “As a country, when you compare us to other countries, I don’t think you can say we’re doing great. I mean, we’re just not,” Fauci said in an interview on a FiveThirtyEight podcast last week.


    S.C. health system again calls off elective surgeries

    1:40 PM CT on 7/13/20

    (AP) A hospital system in South Carolina is suspending elective surgeries due to increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients that officials say are straining staff and other resources.

    Effective Tuesday, officials with Roper St. Francis in Charleston said that procedures that aren't time-sensitive would be put on hold across its four facilities to free up staff for an "unrelenting flood" of patients needing treatment for COVID-19.

    In all, 131 patients who had become ill after contracting the coronavirus were being treated at the hospital's facilities, representing more than a third of all of Roper's inpatient care.

    Emergency surgeries will still be performed as needed, hospital officials said.

    Earlier this year, Gov. Henry McMaster asked that elective surgeries be called off across the state for several weeks in an effort to keep hospital resources available for pandemic response if needed. Those procedures were allowed to begin anew this spring, but McMaster has said he could move to shut them down again statewide if needed.

    The decision comes amid a resurgence of confirmed cases across South Carolina, where state officials said there had been 56,485 total confirmed cases of the coronavirus in South Carolina as of Sunday afternoon. Experts say official counts likely only capture a portion of those who have been infected.

    At least 950 people in South Carolina who contracted the virus have died.


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    Premier, Fresenius Kabi partner to provide sedative for COVID-19 care

    11:37 AM CT on 7/13/20

    Premier is partnering with pharmaceutical manufacturer Fresenius Kabi to supply Diprivan, an injectable sedative used for patients on ventilators.

    Propofol, which is marketed as Diprivan, was added to the Food and Drug Administration’s list of drugs in shortage in April. According to Premier data, demand for the sedative nationwide spiked to about six times historical rates that month.

    “The supply of propofol started to stabilize in June as production and deliveries were expedited,” said Michael J. Alkire, Premier’s president.  “A simultaneous resumption of electives in some parts of the country, coupled with increasing COVID-19 cases across the nation, could lead to a second spike in demand and more widespread shortages. As such, Premier and Fresenius Kabi are partnering to take swift action to assure adequate supply and manage this surge. This agreement secures a reliable supply of both the smaller size Diprivan vials used in elective surgeries, as well as larger vial sizes needed for ventilator sedation.”


    Strong demand for virus testing services, vaccine candidates fast-tracked

    9:54 AM CT on 7/13/20

    (AP) Two vaccine candidates from Pfizer and BioNTech being developed to help protect against the virus that causes COVID-19 have received fast track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The designation was granted based on preliminary data from early-state studies that are currently ongoing in the U.S. and Germany as well as animal immunogenicity studies. The vaccine candidates are not currently approved for distribution anywhere in the world.

    The companies may begin later-stage trials, which would put the treatments closer to launch, as soon as this month, subject to regulatory approval. They anticipate enrolling up to 30,000 subjects. If the ongoing studies are successful, and the vaccine candidate receives regulatory approval, Pfizer and BioNTech currently expect to make up to 100 million doses by the end of the year and potentially more than 1.2 billion doses by the end of 2021.

    Quest Diagnostics is seeing growing demand for its COVID-19 testing services, though at a cost. The company said Monday that second-quarter testing volumes in its base business (excluding COVID-19 molecular and antibody testing) declined approximately 34% from a year ago, according to preliminary results.

    Quest received $65 million in the second quarter from the initial tranche of funds that were appropriated to healthcare providers under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

    PerkinElmer anticipates its second-quarter revenue will climb approximately 12%. The company said Monday that the increase was driven by better-than-expected demand for its full-suite of solutions aimed at helping support customers' COVID-19 testing needs around the world.

    PerkinElmer experienced strong demand for its RT-PCR and serology tests, RNA extraction systems and kits, and automated liquid handling instrumentation. In total, COVID-19 related solutions contributed about $190 million of revenue in the second quarter.


    Study suggests children aren't primary COVID-19 transmitters in their families

    7:42 PM CT on 7/12/20

    Children under the age of 16 do not appear to be the original COVID-19 patients within their households, according to a new study.

    Swiss researchers studied the families of 39 children who tested positive for COVID-19 and found that 79% of households had an adult who showed symptoms of the virus before the child. The researchers said there may be undercounting of COVID-19 cases, as 33% of households had symptomatic members who tested negative, according to the study published in Pediatrics.

    A deeper study into transmission rates could help policymakers determine how to re-open schools and child care facilities, according to an accompanying editorial.


    WHO reports record COVID-19 increase over 24 hours

    6:15 PM CT on 7/12/20

    (AP) The World Health Organization has reported another record in the increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases over a 24-hour period, at over 230,000.

    The U.N. health agency said Sunday the United States again topped the list among countries, with more than 66,000 cases recorded.

    The figures don’t necessarily account for delays in reporting of cases, and are believed to far underestimate actual case totals.

    Still, the trend line of confirmed cases continues to increase — with three largest counts coming in over the last three days.

    The previous record was Friday, with more than 228,000 newly recorded cases worldwide in a 24-hour span.

    Overall, the WHO has counted more than 12.5 million confirmed cases and more than 561,000 deaths from COVID-19.


    Houston leaders call for city lockdown amid virus case surge

    4:46 PM CT on 7/12/20

    (AP) Top officials in Houston are calling for the city to lock back down as area hospitals strain to accommodate the onslaught of patients sick with the new coronavirus.

    Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, both Democrats, said this weekend that a stay-at-home order is needed for America's fourth largest city to cope with the surge of COVID-19 cases.

    “Not only do we need a stay home order now, but we need to stick with it this time until the hospitalization curve comes down, not just flattens,” Hidalgo said on Twitter Sunday. "Many communities that persevered in that way are reopening for the long haul. Let’s learn from that & not make the same mistake twice."

    The call comes after a week in which Texas continued to break records for confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths linked to the disease. State health officials reported 8,196 new cases Sunday, another 80 deaths and a total of 10,410 people hospitalized due to the virus.

    The true number of cases is likely far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.

    The decision over a lockdown, however, rests with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott— who has resisted this step, saying it should be a last resort.

    Abbott led one of America’s swiftest reopenings following earlier closures in Texas. But in recent weeks, he reversed course amid swiftly climbing cases.


    Spanish regions tighten lockdowns

    4:10 PM CT on 7/12/20

    (AP) Regional authorities in northeast Spain have tightened a health lockdown and confined over 140,000 people to only leaving their homes for work and other essential activities.

    Catalan authorities announced the confinement on Sunday, a week after they had already limited travel to and from the county of El Segria, population 210,000, because of an outbreak of the virus that causes COVID-19.

    Lleida, with 138,000 residents, is one of the municipalities in which people are confined to their homes.

    “We must break the chain of contagion,” said regional health authority Alba Vergés. “We must limit our contact to those people we live with.”

    The outbreak in the rural area is connected to farm work and seasonal day laborers, many of whom work and live in precarious conditions.

    Catalan health authorities are also keeping close watch on an outbreak in Hospitalet, a densely populated municipality in the greater Barcelona metropolitan area. In total, northeast Catalonia reported over 800 new cases on Sunday.

    Spain emerged from a three-month nationwide lockdown in mid-June that it needed to rein in the virus that has officially claimed at least 28,000 lives.


    Arizona will use experimental drug to help COVID-19 patients

    2:55 PM CT on 7/12/20

    (AP) Gov. Doug Ducey says Arizona will be getting 361 cases of the experimental antiviral drug Remdesivir, which appears to help patients with COVID-19 recover faster.

    The drug received emergency approval in May by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

    The shipment comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as Arizona grapples with a surge of coronavirus cases around the state.

    Health officials reported 2,537 more confirmed coronavirus cases and 86 additional deaths on Sunday, bringing Arizona’s totals to 122,467 COVID-19 cases and 2,237 fatalities.

    It’s the sixth time this month that at least 40 new deaths have been reported around Arizona, but the first time in eight days with fewer than 3,000 newly confirmed cases.

    However, the number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

    “We’ll continue working with our local and federal partners to get resources where they’re needed, and we need everyone to continue doing their part,” Ducey said Saturday on Twitter.

    Last month, the Arizona Department of Health Services released guidelines on how Remdesivir would be allocated with the drug initially earmarked for high priority patients.

    “The shipment will bolster state supplies with added capacity to treat tens of thousands of additional patients, if needed,” Ducey tweeted.

    Arizona became one of the nation’s coronavirus hot spots in May after Ducey relaxed stay-home orders and other restrictions.

    The state reached 1,000 coronavirus deaths on June 5 and 50,000 coronavirus cases on June 21.

    Cases topped 122,000 on Saturday, three days after reaching the 112,000 mark and six days after reaching 100,000.

    Ducey ordered the closure of gyms, bars, water parks and tubing business for 30 days on June 29.

    On Thursday, the governor capped restaurants at half of their capacity but declined to shut them down entirely.

    “I joined mayors from across Arizona to ask the governor to put in place significant expansion in safety precautions,” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said Sunday on CBS’s Face The Nation. “We do not have a statewide requirement for facial coverings in Arizona and we need one."

    “We would love to see additional protections, including moving restaurants completely to takeout. We would also like to have some of the risky or personal care situations like nail salons. We think that’s just not necessary right now while you’re seeing such high levels of the virus,” Gallego added.

    Ducey has already announced Arizona will increase testing with a focus on low-income areas of Phoenix as many people report it’s hard or impossible to find tests.

    The state also is paying for a private lab to greatly increase its daily capacity. Most people have been waiting up to a week or more for test results.


    Surgeon general urges face coverings

    1:18 PM CT on 7/12/20

    (AP) Surgeon General Jerome Adams said Sunday the Trump administration is “trying to correct” its guidance from earlier in the coronavirus epidemic that wearing face coverings was not necessary.

    With virus cases surging and many states and cities now issuing orders to wear masks in public, Adams said he and other administration officials were wrong back in March. But he insists they were going with the scientific knowledge at the time, which suggested that people with COVID-19 who showed no symptoms were not likely to spread the virus.

    Adams said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that “once upon a time, we prescribed cigarettes for asthmatics and leeches and cocaine and heroin for people as medical treatments. When we learned better, we do better.”

    Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University, told “Fox News Sunday” that he would have liked to have seen administration officials wear masks sooner. He says it should not be viewed as a “personal choice” but a public health imperative.

    Trump was seen wearing a mask in public for the first time Saturday during a visit to a military hospital.


    Florida reports largest, single-day increase in COVID-19 cases

    11:38 AM CT on 7/12/20

    (AP) Florida shattered the national record Sunday for the largest single-day increase in positive coronavirus cases in any state since the beginning of the pandemic, adding more than 15,000 cases as its daily average death toll continued to also rise.

    According to state Department of Health statistics, 15,299 people tested positive, for a total of 269,811 cases, and 45 deaths were recorded.

    California had the previous record of daily positive cases — 11,694, set on Wednesday. New York had 11,571 on April 15.

    The numbers come at the end of a grim, record-breaking week as Florida reported 514 fatalities — an average of 73 per day. Three weeks ago, the state was averaging 30 deaths per day. Since the pandemic began in March, 4,346 people have died in Florida of COVID-19, the state says.

    Testing has doubled over the last month, going from about 25,000 tests per day to almost 50,000, but the percentage of people testing positive has risen even more dramatically. A month ago, fewer than 5% of tests came up positive on a daily average. Over the past week, the daily average exceeded 19%.

    University of Florida epidemiologist Dr. Cindy Prins said that about 143,000 tests were reported on Sunday. “I still think we need to increase our testing a little bit more,” she said, adding that the state and local health departments should ramp up their contact tracing.

    Prins said that she's still concerned about large crowds, gyms and some restaurants as being places of mass transmission. Reports of illegal clubs and raves in South Florida is also a worry, she said.

    “I really do think we could control this, and it’s the human element that is so critical. It should be an effort of our country. We should be pulling together when we’re in a crisis, and we’re definitely not doing it,” she said. “I know people want to live their lives. There have been a lot of other times, people have made those sacrifices in order to benefit our society. It’s almost like a war effort. That’s what we need right now.”


    Coronavirus surge in Eastern Europe causes new restrictions

    9:21 AM CT on 7/12/20

    (AP) Countries in Eastern Europe are facing rising waves of coronavirus infections, leading to new restrictive measures such as the mandatory use of face masks in Croatia and travel bans or quarantines to be imposed by Hungary.

    Hungarian authorities said Sunday that they would put countries in three categories — red, yellow and green — based on their rate of new coronavirus infections, and would impose restrictions, including entry bans and mandatory quarantines, depending from which country people were coming from.

    “We see worrisome signs about an increase in the number of cases in the neighboring countries, Europe and the whole world,” said Gergely Gulyas, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff.

    Foreigners from countries in the red category — those with a high rate of infections, including Albania, Ukraine, Belarus and practically all of Asia, Africa and South and Central America — are banned from entering, while Hungarian citizens arriving from those locations will have to stay quarantined for two weeks or until they test negative twice, 48 hours apart.

    Both Hungarians and foreigners arriving from countries in the yellow category — which includes, among others, Bulgaria, Portugal, Romania and Sweden, as well as Britain, Russia, Serbia, Japan, China and the United States — will have to quarantine for two weeks, but will be allowed out if they test negative for the virus: once for Hungarians, or two negative tests 48 hours apart in the case of foreigners.

    Gulyas said the new rules would take effect Wednesday and would be reviewed at least once a week.

    Romania announced a new high of infections on Saturday, with 698, while 456 new cases were reported Sunday.

    Serbia reported 354 new infections on Saturday, although there have been increasing doubts about the accuracy of the figures. Officially, the country has over 18,000 confirmed infections and 382 deaths since March, with health authorities warning that Serbian hospitals are almost full due to the latest surge in cases.

    Croatia, whose Adriatic Sea coast is a major tourist destination, will make wearing masks mandatory in stores from Monday, while restaurant staff, but not patrons, will also have to wear face coverings.


    Arizona reports 69 more deaths, sets hospitalization records

    7:05 PM CT on 7/11/20

    (AP) The coronavirus outbreak in Arizona has produced 69 additional deaths and record numbers of hospitalizations, according to data released Saturday by state health officials.

    The death toll increased to 2,151, and the state Department of Health Services reported 3,038 additional confirmed cases, increasing the state's total to nearly 120,000.

    A new high of 3,485 patients were hospitalized for COVID-19 as of Friday when records also were set for the number of coronavirus patients in ICU beds and on ventilators. However, the number of emergency room visits for COVID-19 dropped Friday for the third straight day.

    Arizona became one of the nation's hot spots for COVID-19 after Gov. Doug Ducey in May relaxed stay-home orders and other restrictions.

    Now, hospitals are near capacity, with 88% of the licensed beds occupied and 90% of the intensive care beds filled.

    Ducey on Thursday announced the state will increase testing with a focus on low-income areas of Phoenix as many people report it's hard or impossible to find tests. It also is paying for a private lab to greatly increase its daily capacity. Most people have been waiting up to a week or more for test results.


    Trump wears mask during visit to Walter Reed

    5:17 PM CT on 7/11/20

    (AP) President Donald Trump wore a mask during a visit to a military hospital on Saturday, the first time the president has been seen in public with the type of facial covering recommended by health officials as a precaution against spreading or becoming infected by the novel coronavirus.

    Trump flew by helicopter to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in suburban Washington to meet wounded servicemembers and health care providers caring for COVID-19 patients. As he left the White House, he told reporters: "When you're in a hospital, especially ... I think it's expected to wear a mask."

    Trump was wearing a mask in Walter Reed's hallway as he began his visit. He was not wearing one when he stepped off the helicopter at the facility.

    The president was a latecomer to wearing a mask during the pandemic, which has raged across the U.S. since March and infected more than 3.2 million and killed at least 134,000. Most prominent Republicans, including Vice President Mike Pence, endorsed wearing masks as the coronavirus gained ground this summer.

    Trump, however, has declined to wear a mask at news conferences, coronavirus task force updates, rallies and other public events.


    Coronavirus deaths take a long-expected turn for the worse

    3:23 PM CT on 7/11/20

    (AP) A long-expected upturn in U.S. coronavirus deaths has begun, driven by fatalities in states in the South and West, according to data on the pandemic.

    The number of deaths per day from the virus had been falling for months, and even remained down as states like Florida and Texas saw explosions in cases and hospitalizations — and reported daily U.S. infections broke records several times in recent days.

    Scientists warned it wouldn't last. A coronavirus death, when it occurs, typically comes several weeks after a person is first infected. And experts predicted states that saw increases in cases and hospitalizations would, at some point, see deaths rise too. Now that's happening. "It's consistently picking up. And it's picking up at the time you'd expect it to," said William Hanage, a Harvard University infectious diseases researcher.

    According to an Associated Press analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University, the seven-day rolling average for daily reported deaths in the U.S. has increased from 578 two weeks ago to 664 on July 10 — still well below the heights hit in April.

    Daily reported deaths increased in 27 states over that time period, but the majority of those states are averaging under 15 new deaths per day. A smaller group of states has been driving the nationwide increase in deaths.

    California is averaging 91 reported deaths per day while Texas is close behind with 66, but Florida, Arizona, Illinois, New Jersey and South Carolina also saw sizable rises.


    Mississippi limits elective surgeries amid COVID-19 surge

    1:26 PM CT on 7/11/20

    (AP) Mississippi's top public health official has ordered a temporary halt to all elective surgeries to try to save hospital bed space as the state sees a rapid expansion in cases of the new coronavirus.

    The order by the state health officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, covers all medical facilities in the state. It takes effect Sunday and lasts until at least July 20.

    His order, issued Friday, says elective procedures can be done only under "extraordinary circumstance" and "must be accompanied by an extensive and compelling justification."

    Mississippi has a population of about 3 million. The Health Department said Saturday that the state has had nearly 35,420 confirmed cases and at least 1,230 deaths from the coronavirus as of Friday evening. That was an increase of 797 cases and 15 deaths from numbers reported the day before.

    The department said at least 2,959 cases of the virus have been confirmed in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, with at least 5,953 virus-related deaths in those facilities.


    Pandemic, racism compound worries about Black suicide rate

    11:12 AM CT on 7/11/20

    (AP) Jasmin Pierre was 18 when she tried to end her life, overdosing on whatever pills she could find. Diagnosed with depression and anxiety, she survived two more attempts at suicide, which felt like the only way to stop her pain.

    Years of therapy brought progress, but the 31-year-old Black woman's journey is now complicated by a combination of stressors hitting simultaneously: isolation during the pandemic, a shortage of mental health care providers and racial trauma inflicted by repeated police killings of Black people. "Black people who already go through mental health issues, we're even more triggered," said Pierre, who lives in New Orleans. "I don't think my mental health issues have ever, ever been this bad before."

    Health experts have warned of a looming mental health crisis linked to the coronavirus outbreak, and the federal government rolled out a broad anti-suicide campaign. But doctors and researchers say the issues reverberate deeper among Black people, who've seen rising youth suicide attempts and suffered disproportionately during the pandemic.

    Mental health advocates are calling for more specialized federal attention on Black suicides, including research funding. Counselors focusing on Black trauma are offering free help. And Black churches are finding new ways to address suicide as social distancing has eroded how people connect.

    "There has been a lot of complex grief and loss related to death, related to loss of jobs and loss of income," said Sean Joe, an expert on Black suicides at Washington University in St. Louis. "There's a lot of hurt and pain in America going on right now, and you only are getting a sense of depth in the months ahead."


    Arizona hospitals planning to transfer patients to nursing homes

    9:40 AM CT on 7/11/20

    (AP) Arizona is preparing to help hospitals shuttle some recovering virus patients into nursing homes to make space for arrivals as it reported more than 4,000 newly confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday — still the highest rate of infection per capita in the nation.

    Hospitals in the state are nearing capacity, with 88% of the licensed beds occupied and 89% of the intensive care beds filled. There are about 7,900 licensed beds in Arizona, and hospitals are prepared to increase that number by up to 50% if needed under orders from the state.

    Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ said at a news briefing that the state is taking a number of steps to free up hospital space for COVID-19 patients. They include providing cash for increased nursing home staffing and personal protective equipment, setting up a system where hospitals can connect with nursing homes and other facilities that have space and providing cash to boost that capacity. "We know that there's a lot of people who get really sick from COVID and they may recover enough to not need to be a hospital anymore but they may need to be somewhere else besides going home," Christ said. "Maybe they live with somebody who is high risk, maybe they still need some ongoing care."

    In an interview, Christ said the state also has re-licensed some hospital areas that can be used as skilled-nursing facilities and is providing cash to hospitals to pay for increased staffing.

    The state also has an entire hospital ready to reopen if needed to care for patients, and has identified three large sites that could quickly be turned into so-called "step-down" facilities that can care for patients that don't need acute-level hospital care. "But we would prefer to have patients placed into an already existing skilled-nursing facility or a (long-term acute care hospital) or one of those," Christ said.

    The shuttered hospital, St. Luke's Medical Center in central Phoenix, was closed last year but revamped by the Army Corps of Engineers under a $4.1 million federal contract early in the pandemic. It was originally planned to be an all-ICU facility with ventilators for virus patients but is now planned for use if needed as a post-acute care hospital that could house about 200 patients. Christ said a contract is in place with a provider which could have the facility staffed and open in about 10 days.


    NY eases visitor ban aimed at curbing virus in nursing homes

    8:18 PM CT on 7/10/20

    (AP) Certain nursing homes in New York can allow visitors — with restrictions — starting July 15 as the state eases a ban aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19 among vulnerable elderly residents.

    Only nursing homes and long-term care facilities without any new coronavirus cases among residents and staffers in the last 28 days can allow limited visits, state Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said Friday. The department said the state's policy follows federal guidance and is limited to nursing homes without staffing shortages that have tested all residents.

    Health department spokeswoman Jill Montag said about 150 of the more than 600 nursing homes in the state could qualify to open up to visitors. Roughly 500 nursing homes had reported COVID-19 cases among staffers in June, according to recently released data from the state, which doesn't release data about the number of cases at individual nursing homes.

    Residents can have visits from up to two individuals at a time, and visitors must undergo temperature checks, wear face masks and keep 6 feet (2 meters) away from residents during the visit. At least one of the visitors must be 18 years of age, according to Zucker.

    No more than 10% of residents can have visitors at any one time, and the state's rules limit visitation to outdoor areas, weather permitting. Otherwise, visitation can be allowed inside a “well-ventilated space" with up to 10 socially distanced individuals wearing face coverings.

    The state banned visitors at nursing homes March 13 over fear of spreading the virus that took hold in a Washington nursing home in late February. The state reports at least 6,400 residents with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 have died in nursing homes, and it's unclear how many have died in hospitals.

    “I know how painful it has been for residents of these facilities to endure such a long period of time without seeing family and loved ones, and my hope is that this adjustment to the visitation policy will provide some comfort to everyone,” Zucker said.

    Nursing homes that allow visitors are required to send visitation plans to the state.

    Long-term care ombudsmen, who advocate for residents, can once again visit nursing homes and long-term care facilities starting July 15 as well. Ombudsmen must present the nursing home with a verified negative test result from within the past week, according to the state health department.

    The state's ease on visitor restrictions comes as the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, daily fatalities and daily positive test results have plunged since a peak in mid-April.


    Atlanta mayor clashes with governor as Georgia expands beds

    8:18 PM CT on 7/10/20

    (AP) Gov. Brian Kemp announced Friday that Georgia would increase hospital bed capacity as COVID-19 hospitalizations surged, the state set a new single-day record for coronavirus infections and he clashed anew with Atlanta's mayor.

    Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told residents of the state's largest city to stay home except for essential trips and for restaurants to limit themselves to takeout, but the Republican Kemp has barred local officials from taking actions stronger than his statewide mandates. Bottoms on Wednesday ordered people to wear masks, another move Kemp says is legally void.

    The city has previously said its guidelines are voluntary, although Bottoms claimed Wednesday she does have the authority to order masks. Augusta on Friday became the latest large Georgia jurisdiction to order masks.

    “Mayor Bottoms’ action today is merely guidance — both non-binding and legally unenforceable," Kemp said in a statement. “As clearly stated in the governor’s executive order, no local action can be more or less restrictive, and that rule applies statewide.”

    Bottoms is under consideration by Joe Biden as his Democratic vice presidential running mate and announced this week she had contracted the coronavirus. She and Kemp have clashed several times recently.

    “Georgia reopened in a reckless manner and the people of our city and state are suffering the consequences,” Bottoms said.

    In April, Kemp decided Georgia would be among the first states to loosen restrictions.

    Newly confirmed cases reported Friday in Georgia totaled nearly 4,500, surpassing the old daily record by more than 1,000. Experts say many more people are infected, but never tested. The number of people hospitalized for the virus rose above 2,400 on Friday, more than doubling in the past two weeks.

    The state will contract for 100 new hospital beds at an unnamed Atlanta-area hospital and will reactivate an overflow hospital at the mammoth state-owned convention center in downtown Atlanta, Kemp’s office announced Friday.

    Kemp spokeswoman Candice Broce, in an email to reporters, said that as backlogged commercial testing services continue reporting results, Georgia expects more cases.

    “Following a drop-off in specimens collected over the holiday weekend, we now expect a trend of higher case numbers as new results arrive,” she wrote.

    More than 111,000 cases have now been confirmed in Georgia, with the number of confirmed deaths rising Friday to 2,965. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. Most recover, but some can become severely ill or die.


    CDC head sticking to school-opening guides Trump criticized

    4:24 PM CT on 7/10/20

    (AP) Federal health officials won't revise their coronavirus guidelines for reopening schools despite criticism from President Donald Trump, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. What they will do, he said, is provide additional information to help states, communities and parents decide what to do and when.

    "Our guidelines are our guidelines," Dr. Robert Redfield declared.

    In draft CDC documents obtained by The Associated Press, the agency says there are steps that schools can take to safely reopen but that it "cannot provide one-size-fits-all criteria for opening and closing schools or changing the way schools are run."

    "Decisions about how to open and run schools safely should be made based on local needs and conditions," the documents say.

    They also include a checklist that encourages parents to carefully consider whether they should send their kids back to school in person or seek virtual instruction. Many districts nationwide are offering parents a choice of either mode of instruction. New York City, among other school districts, has announced that students will only return part-time in the fall.

    That runs counter to Trump's messaging. He has been repeatedly pressuring state and local officials to reopen schools this fall, even threatening to withhold federal funds from those that keep teaching and learning remote.

    Trump on Wednesday criticized the CDC's guidelines as "very tough and expensive" and said the agency was "asking schools to do very impractical things." Speaking of CDC officials, he tweeted, "I will be meeting with them!!!" And Vice President Mike Pence said revised guidelines would be issued next week.

    But in an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America," Redfield firmly stuck to the existing CDC guidelines.

    "It's really important, it's not a revision of the guidelines, it's just to provide additional information to help schools be able to use the guidance that we put forward."

    Asked about the apparent discrepancy between Redfield's and Pence's statements, White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said they were on the same page. She said "supplemental guidelines" would be forthcoming.


    Study finds proton pump inhibitor use could increase COVID-19 risk

    2:08 PM CT on 7/10/20

    People who use Proton pump inhibitors, drugs that reduce stomach acid production, could be at higher risk for COVID-19, according to a study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

    In an online survey of more than 53,000 participants, researchers found those who reported taking PPIs once or twice daily were significantly more likely to report a positive COVID-19 test. People who used the drug twice daily were nearly four times more likely to have a positive test.

    Researchers theorized increasing stomach pH above 3 due to the use of PPIs could allow the virus to more easily enter the gastrointestinal system.

    "All it means is that we're going to have a conversation with our patients,"  Dr. Brennan Spiegel, a study author, told Medscape Medical News. "We don't normally have that conversation because we don't live in an environment with a high risk of enteric infection. But now we're in a pandemic."


    Oxygen already runs low as COVID-19 surges in South Africa

    12:09 PM CT on 7/10/20

    (AP) The coronavirus storm has arrived in South Africa, but in the overflowing COVID-19 wards the sound is less of a roar than a rasp.

    Medical oxygen is already low in hospitals at the new epicenter of the country's outbreak, Gauteng province, home to the power centers of Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, visiting a hospital Friday, said authorities are working with industry to divert more oxygen their way.

    Some of the hospital's patients spilled into heated tents in the parking lot. They lay under thick blankets in the middle of winter in the Southern Hemisphere, with a cold front arriving this weekend and temperatures expected to dip below freezing.

    South Africa overnight posted another record daily high of confirmed cases, 13,674, as Africa's most developed country is a new global hot spot with 238,339 cases overall. More than a third are in Gauteng.

    "The storm that we have consistently warned South Africans about is now arriving," Mkhize said this week.

    A nurse at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital — the third largest hospital in the world with more than 3,000 beds — painted a bleak picture, saying new patients with the virus are now being admitted into ordinary wards as the COVID-19 ones are full.

    "Our hospital is overloaded already. There has been an influx of patients over the last two weeks," the nurse said, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give interviews.

    More and more colleagues at the hospital are testing positive daily for the virus, the nurse said, "even people who are not working in COVID wards."

    Already more than 8,000 health workers across Africa have been infected — half of them in South Africa.
    Hospital beds in all provinces could be full within the month, the health minister said this week. On Friday he said a team is looking at 2,000 additional beds for field hospitals in Gauteng.

    In addition to the bed shortage, many hospitals are grappling with limited oxygen supplies to treat patients with the respiratory disease.

    Guy Richards, director of clinical care at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg, told the AP they are extremely worried.

    "Even a big hospital like ours has difficulty supplying sufficient amounts of oxygenation for our patients. The same thing is happening at Helen Joseph (Hospital), and this is a major problem," he said.

    At the field hospital in the Nasrec Expo Center in Johannesburg none of the 450 beds have oxygen, said Lynne Wilkinson, a public health specialist who is part of a volunteer effort that's calling for 100 oxygen concentrators.

    The purity and volume of oxygen is lower in the portable and usually temporary devices.

    Sourcing them is a problem because they're bought up by the private sector, even private individuals, she told the AP: "They keep them at home."

    Eight hundred new beds will be built at the field hospital, and the health minister on Friday said the facility would receive 1,000 "oxygen points." But that will take weeks, Wilkinson said.


    Florida reports highest single-day jump in COVID-19 deaths

    10:12 AM CT on 7/10/20

    (AP) Health authorities in Florida reported 120 new deaths from the new coronavirus on Thursday, grimly marking the highest one-day jump yet amid a surge in new infections that continues to befuddle the state's attempts to contain the outbreak.

    The number of deaths was the highest since the 113 reported in early May. The cumulative death toll has now surpassed 4,000 as confirmed cases climbed by nearly 9,000 to more than 229,000.

    The state also reported on Thursday the biggest 24-hour jump in hospitalizations, with 409 patients admitted.
    Intensive care units are quickly filling up, including those in some hospitals with the largest bed capacity such as the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville and Tampa General Hospital.

    Data from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration shows statewide about 14% of the total ICU beds were available Thursday.

    Dr. Elizabeth Ransom, chief physician executive at Baptist Health in Jacksonville, said hospitals are on high alert and preparing to bring in temporary staff, anticipating the numbers will rise.

    "We worry if we're going to see a bump from the recent Fourth of July weekend," she said.

    On Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis acknowledged the rising positive rate from virus testing, but said "there was no need to be panicked."

    "You do have more transmission circulating around the community over the last month, three weeks, than we did at the end of April, all through May, beginning of June," DeSantis said.

    The governor did not address the record rise in deaths, but said the state dispatched 100 nurses to Tampa. That step came after he announced earlier this week that 100 nurses would be sent to Miami to deal with rising COVID-19 hospitalizations.


    Colorado unveils coronavirus modeling tool for public

    8:34 PM CT on 7/9/20

    (AP)

    Colorado's Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday unveiled a coronavirus modeling tool that allows the public to input parameters such as age, a percentage of people wearing masks or social distancing to predict a COVID-19 infection rate.

    “What happens if the 20-somethings still party but the 68-year-old-pluses all stay at home," Polis said. "You can actually create all these scenarios yourself.”

    The tool will be available at coloradocoronavirus.com, which is not yet live.

    “The goal is to put into the hands of Coloradans the tools that we use to project where the epidemic may go and to allow people to look and see how what they do can affect the course of the epidemic,” said Dr. Jonathan Samet, dean of the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

    Colorado has seen an increase in the rate of confirmed coronavirus infections for the first time since April. The department reported 1,484 additional cases the week ending June 21.

    The state saw a rise in confirmed virus cases in both the metro area and the high country reporting double-digit percentage increases in infections during the latter half of June. Although the state has no capacity issues at hospitals, Polis said 11 out of the last 14 days have had an upward trend in cases.

    The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.


    Smartphone app for tracking COVID-19 users is on hold

    7:15 PM CT on 7/9/20

    (Canadian Press) Ontario's new smartphone application for tracking COVID-19 cases has not yet been installed on our cellphones as the province is sitting back and waiting for the federal government to get more provinces to buy in on the program.

    It was June 18 that Premier Doug Ford announced that the new application would be available voluntarily to all Ontario smartphone owners by July 2.

    That didn't happen. And even though many cellphones have generic COVID-19 tracking technology (more on this below), the Ontario-specific program has not been launched yet.

    Mike Maddock, the assistant deputy minister for the Ontario Digital Service, explained in June how the Ontario app was developed after seeing similar applications come on the market in Germany, Japan and other countries.

    "After careful consideration over the past number of weeks, we decided to build a customized version of an app that was developed in Ontario by volunteers from Shopify (a software and web development company). The app was called COVID Shield. It was released as open source code — open source meaning it is transparent and open to the public and free to anyone in any part of the world to customize and use," said Maddock.

    When pushed by reporters earlier this month on why COVID Shield had not yet materialized by July 2 as promised, the premier said there was a delay.

    But it was not from "our side" Ford said during a recent news conference.

    Ford explained he was "proud of Shopify and what an incredible job they did."

    He added that he was proud the app was developed in Ontario, but said the program is currently on hold while the federal government works to bring more provinces in on the plan.


    Mississippi seeing big virus outbreak in state legislature

    6:02 PM CT on 7/9/20

    (AP)  Packed elevators and crowded committee rooms. Legislators sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on the House and Senate floor. People standing close to each other and talking, sometimes leaning in to whisper, without a mask in sight.

    Those were common scenes at the Mississippi Capitol in June — a month that saw a historic vote to remove the Confederate emblem from the state flag — and now at least 26 lawmakers have been diagnosed with the coronavirus in the biggest known outbreak in any state legislature in the nation.

    That works out to about 1 in 7 Mississippi legislators.

    Among those testing positive in the heavily Republican body are the GOP presiding officers, House Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann.

    None of the lawmakers has been hospitalized, according to state officials.

    President Donald Trump has resisted wearing a mask, and many other Republicans around the country have cast face coverings and social distancing as an infringement on their freedom.

    But around the Mississippi Capitol, not wearing a mask — or wearing one pushed below the chin — was a bipartisan activity in recent weeks. At the same time, plenty of other lawmakers from both parties covered their faces and took other precautions.

    Mississippi has seen a rapid rise in confirmed cases in the past two weeks, with the total hitting nearly 33,600 by Wednesday, including at least 1,200 deaths.

    In addition to the legislators, at least 10 people who work in the Capitol have been diagnosed with the virus, the state health officer said Wednesday. And the numbers could well be higher: The figures are based only on Health Department testing done in Jackson, including drive-thru testing Monday at the Capitol. Some members were tested after returning to their hometowns beginning July 1.


    COVID-19 pandemic in Africa is now reaching 'full speed'

    5:00 PM CT on 7/9/20

    (AP) The COVID-19 pandemic in Africa is reaching "full speed," the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief said Thursday, while a South African official said a single province is preparing 1.5 million graves.

    Just a day after confirmed coronavirus cases across Africa surpassed the half-million milestone the total was over 522,000 and climbing, with more than 12,000 deaths. With testing levels low, the real numbers are unknown.
    South Africa has the most confirmed cases with over 224,000, and for the first time Gauteng province — home to Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria — has the country's most cases with over 75,000, or 33%.

    Provincial official Bandile Masuku, a medical doctor, startled South Africans when he told reporters Wednesday that Gauteng is preparing over 1.5 million graves. "It's a reality that we need to deal with," he said, and it's the public's responsibility "to make sure that we don't get there."

    But the province in a statement Thursday sought to calm fears, saying it "does not have over a million already open dug graves" and clarified that the official was saying the province has enough space for that many. It also said six members of Gauteng's COVID-19 War Room have tested positive for the virus.

    Modeling has shown that South Africa will have nowhere close to that many deaths in the months ahead. Several models forecast between 40,000 and 80,000 by the end of the year.

    Asked about the graves, Africa CDC chief John Nkengasong said "there's absolutely no harm to think ahead" and prepare for the "worst-case scenario."

    "We've crossed a critical number here," he said of the half-million milestone. "Our pandemic is getting full speed."

    He called for more mask-wearing, saying "this battle will be won or lost at the community level." He also called for more testing, as just 5.7 million tests for the new virus have been conducted across the continent of 1.3 billion people.


    Texas hits record with 98 new COVID-19 deaths reported

    2:04 PM CT on 7/9/20

    (AP) Texas reported its deadliest day of the pandemic with nearly 100 new deaths on Wednesday as newly confirmed cases continued soaring and Austin began preparations to turn the downtown convention center into a field hospital.

    The 98 reported deaths in Texas set a record one-day high, surpassing the record 60 deaths reported a day earlier. Texas is now reporting a total of 2,813 deaths.

    The state also reported 9,979 new coronavirus cases Wednesday after hitting a record-high 10,028 new cases the day before. The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

    Republican Gov. Greg Abbott aggressively began one of America's fastest reopenings in May but has begun reversing course in recent weeks, ordering bars closed and mandating face coverings.

    Hospitalizations of people with coronavirus virus continued to climb Wednesday, with 9,610 patients in hospitals across the state.

    On Wednesday  officials in Houston canceled the Texas Republican Party's in-person convention, saying the spread of the coronavirus made it impossible to hold the event as scheduled. The move by Houston officials came after Republican activists had resolved to press forward with the indoor three-day convention this month.


    House panel gives NIH 13% raise in draft spending bill

    12:01 PM CT on 7/9/20

    The National Institutes of Health would get a 13% raise in fiscal 2021, according to a draft spending bill from the House Appropriations Committee.

    The bill would provide a total of $47 billion for NIH, an increase of $5.5 billion from fiscal 2020. Most of that increase, about $5 billion, comes from emergency appropriation. The draft would increase spending by no less than 7% across each center and institute at the NIH.

    “Critically, the bill will strengthen our response to coronavirus and the accompanying economic crisis through robust funding for state and local public health departments, public health laboratories, and for the accelerated development and production of vaccines and therapeutics,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) of the entire draft spending bill.


    Health official: Trump rally 'likely' source of virus surge

    9:39 AM CT on 7/9/20

    (AP) President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Tulsa in late June that drew thousands of participants and large protests "likely contributed" to a dramatic surge in new coronavirus cases, Tulsa City-County Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dart said Wednesday.

    Tulsa County reported 261 confirmed new cases on Monday, a one-day record high, and another 206 cases on Tuesday. By comparison, during the week before the June 20 Trump rally, there were 76 cases on Monday and 96 on Tuesday.

    Although the health department's policy is to not publicly identify individual settings where people may have contracted the virus, Dart said those large gatherings "more than likely" contributed to the spike.

    "In the past few days, we've seen almost 500 new cases, and we had several large events just over two weeks ago, so I guess we just connect the dots," Dart said.

    Trump's Tulsa rally, his first since the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S., attracted thousands of people from around the country. About 6,200 people gathered inside the 19,000-seat BOK Center arena — far fewer than was expected.

    Dart had urged the campaign to consider pushing back the date of the rally, fearing a potential surge in the number of coronavirus cases.

    Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said the campaign went to great lengths to ensure that those who attended the rally were protected.

    "There were literally no health precautions to speak of as thousands looted, rioted, and protested in the streets and the media reported that it did not lead to a rise in coronavirus cases," Murtaugh said in a statement.

    "Meanwhile, the President's rally was 18 days ago, all attendees had their temperature checked, everyone was provided a mask, and there was plenty of hand sanitizer available for all.

    "It's obvious that the media's concern about large gatherings begins and ends with Trump rallies," he said.

    Although masks were provided to rally goers, there was no requirement that participants wear them, and most didn't.


    Virus registry to use de-identified patient data

    8:19 AM CT on 7/9/20

    The Society of Critical Care Medicine took another step toward creating its COVID-19 registry, selecting a partner that will provide de-identified patient data for the database.

    SCCM's Discovery Viral Infection and Respiratory Illness Universal Study COVID-19 Registry will use de-identified data from hospitalized patients to monitor length of ICU stays, ventilation duration, mortality and other viral health impacts. The data will be provided by cloud-based software platform PointClickCare.

    The registry will particularly focus on seniors, who are at greater risk of severe COVID-19 cases and side effects.


    Oxfam: Pandemic pushing millions to brink of starvation

    7:56 PM CT on 7/8/20

    (AP) The coronavirus outbreak has worsened the hunger crisis in the world's poorest corners and up to 12,000 people could die each day from hunger linked to the social and economic effects of the pandemic, the humanitarian group Oxfam warned.

    Its report said mass unemployment, disruption to food production and declining aid as a result of the pandemic could push an estimated 122 million people to the brink of starvation this year.

    "The knock-on impacts of COVID-19 are far more widespread than the virus itself, pushing millions of the world's poorest people deeper into hunger and poverty," said the group's chief executive, Danny Sriskandarajah. "It is vital governments contain the spread of this deadly disease, but they must also prevent it killing as many — if not more — people from hunger."

    The charity said that in some of the world's worst hunger "hot spots," including Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria and South Sudan, the food crisis is worsening because of border and supply route closures or a huge drop in remittances as result of the pandemic. In middle-income countries like India, South Africa and Brazil, millions of people who had been "just about managing have been tipped over the edge."

    Even in developed countries like Britain, the report said, up to 3.7 million adults sought charity food or used a food bank during the first weeks of lockdown restrictions.

    It said that women, and women-headed households, are more likely to go hungry because they make up a large proportion of hard-hit groups such as informal workers and also have borne the brunt of an increase in unpaid care work as a result of school closures and family illness.


    White House expert, researcher see Arizona cases leveling

    6:26 PM CT on 7/8/20

    (AP) One of the nation's coronavirus hot spots got a sliver a good news Wednesday when an Arizona State University researcher and the White House's coronavirus response coordinator both said an exponential rise in the percentage of people testing positive for the virus appears to have leveled off.

    Dr. Joshua LaBaer of ASU's Biodesign Institute,tempered the news with a warning that the state's tally of new daily cases remains unsustainable, although it shows a sign of leveling off. He said Arizona is steadily seeing about 3,500 new cases a day and hospitals are still admitting more patients than they're discharging.

    "Especially because .... these cases going into the hospital stay a long time – more people are going in than are coming out," LaBaer said, "We really need to start seeing day-over-day decreases."

    Dr. Deborah Birx, who is coordinating the White House response, said the seven-day average for positive tests appears to no longer be rising, an "encouraging" development. The rate a month ago was less than 10%, and now is above 20%..


    Arizona health officials report virus deaths nearing 2,000

    4:21 PM CT on 7/8/20

    (AP) The number of new coronavirus cases in Arizona shows no sign of easing Wednesday as hospitals report treating the largest number of patients yet in their emergency departments and the most ever in both their intensive care and regular beds.

    Figures released by the Arizona Department of Health Services showed a record 3,421 people being treated, filling up nearly half the available beds statewide. Intensive care units were caring for 879 patients, with 570 of them on ventilators to help them breathe. The numbers reflect Tuesday's hospital tallies.

    All but 145 of the state's more than 1,500 ICU beds are full, meaning hospitals have little room to treat more extremely sick patients without adding beds. State health officials say they're prepared to do that, with all hospitals required to have the ability to boost beds by up to 50%.

    Hospitals reporting to the state said more than 2,000 people were seen in emergency rooms on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the number of virus tests coming back positive is at 25%, more than three times the national average.

    Republican Gov. Doug Ducey ordered bars, nightclubs and gyms to close last week in an effort to slow the spread of the virus, after allowing the whole state to reopen in mid-May. Two weeks ago, Ducey allowed cities and counties to require face masks to help prevent the spread of the virus and the majority of the state's population now is under a mask order.

    The surge of cases began in late May and is now doubling every two weeks.

    The department reported 3,520 new cases and 36 additional deaths Wednesday. That brings the state's total confirmed cases to 108,614 and the number of deaths attributed to the virus to 1,963.


    Governors urge Trump admin to renew public health emergency

    2:18 PM CT on 7/8/20

    The National Governors Association is urging the Trump administration to renew the public health emergency declaration as many states see record outbreaks of COVID-19.

    The public health emergency is set to expire July 25. Though HHS spokesman Michael Caputo tweeted last week the agency would extend the emergency, some changes, like enrolling out-of-state providers or reimbursing for care in alternate settings, depend on the separate Stafford Act national emergency President Trump declared in March.

    “The U.S. government must ensure governors, states and territories continue to have all the tools necessary to manage the COVID-19 surge,” wrote the NGA in a release. “The PHE declaration, along with Stafford Act Declarations, ensures that critical resources, including enhanced FMAP, funding for testing the uninsured, and critical regulatory flexibilities, remain available at the federal and state level.”


    Related Article
    HHS will renew public health emergency

    Brazil's president says hydroxychloroquine will cure his virus

    11:51 AM CT on 7/8/20

    (AP) Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he is confident that he will swiftly recover from the new coronavirus thanks to treatment with hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug that has not been proven effective against COVID-19.

    Bolsonaro said he tested positive for the new coronavirus on Tuesday after months of downplaying its severity while deaths mounted rapidly inside the country.

    The president told reporters he underwent a lung X-ray on Monday after experiencing fever, muscle aches and malaise. As of Tuesday, his fever had subsided, he said, and he attributed the improvement to hydroxychloroquine.

    He stepped back from the journalists and removed his mask at one point to show that he looked well.

    The 65-year-old right-wing populist who has been known to mingle in crowds without covering his face confirmed the results while wearing a mask and speaking to reporters huddled close in front of him in the capital, Brasilia.

    "I'm, well, normal. I even want to take a walk around here, but I can't due to medical recommendations," Bolsonaro said.

    Later Tuesday, he posted a video to Facebook of him taking his third dose of hydroxychloroquine, which has also been promoted by President Donald Trump.

    But a string of studies in the UK and U.S., as well as by the World Health Organization, have found it ineffective and sometimes deadly because of its effects on the heart. Several studies were cancelled early because of that.

    "Today I'm a lot better, so certainly it's working," Bolsonaro said, downing the dose with a glass of water. "We know today there are other remedies that can help fight the coronavirus. We know none of them have their efficacy scientifically proven, but I'm one more person for whom this is working. So I trust hydroxychloroquine. And you?"


    Harvard, MIT sue to block ICE rule on international students

    9:39 AM CT on 7/8/20

    (AP) Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging the Trump administration's decision to bar international students from staying in the U.S. if they take classes entirely online this fall.

    The lawsuit, filed in Boston's federal court, seeks to prevent federal immigration authorities from enforcing the rule. The universities contend that the directive violates the Administrative Procedures Act because officials failed to offer a reasonable basis justifying the policy and because the public was not given notice to comment on it.

    The Trump administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement notified colleges Monday that international students will be forced to leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools operate entirely online this fall. New visas will not be issued to students at those schools, and others at universities offering a mix of online and in-person classes will be barred from taking all of their classes online.

    The guidance was released the same day Harvard announced it would be keeping its classes online this fall. Harvard says the directive would prevent many of Harvard's 5,000 international students from remaining in the U.S.

    Harvard President Lawrence Bacow said the order came without notice and that its "cruelty" was surpassed only by its "recklessness."

    "It appears that it was designed purposefully to place pressure on colleges and universities to open their on-campus classrooms for in-person instruction this fall, without regard to concerns for the health and safety of students, instructors, and others," Bacow said in a statement Wednesday. "This comes at a time when the United States has been setting daily records for the number of new infections, with more than 300,000 new cases reported since July 1."

    The guidelines have provoked backlash from universities across the U.S. who say international students have an important place in their communities. Many schools have also come to depend on tuition revenue from international students, who typically pay higher tuition rates.

    It creates an urgent dilemma for thousands of international students who became stranded in the U.S. last spring after the coronavirus forced their schools to move online. Those attending schools that are staying online must "depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction," according to the guidance.


    Fauci favors mandatory mask orders

    8:18 PM CT on 7/7/20

    (AP) Dr. Anthony Fauci says Alabama and other states with soaring coronavirus rates have a window of opportunity to bring it under control and spoke in favor of state and local requirements for masks in public.

    Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Diseases, says the United States is in a resurgence of new coronavirus cases, with daily cases nearly double the country’s previously high baseline. Infection rates have been rising in the South and West.

    “We are facing a serious problem now,” Fauci said in an online news conference with Alabama Sen. Doug Jones. He says the U.S. is in a situation where it must continue to try to reopen in a safe, prudent manner.

    “What is alarming is the slope of the curve,” Fauci said of cases in Alabama. He added, “the signal should be wear a mask, period.”

    Fauci says the mean age of people getting infected is about 15 years younger than previously in the U.S. While generally healthier, young people can still face serious illness if they have underling health conditions.

    The country’s top infectious disease expert spoke in favor of school reopening, saying there are ripple effects for families if children can’t go to school. He says areas with high rates of illness might consider mandatory masks or rotating schedules to reduce classroom size.


    N.C. boosts testing; won't require physician referral

    6:06 PM CT on 7/7/20

    (AP) North Carolina has announced that residents will no longer need a doctor’s referral to get a coronavirus test.

    Tuesday’s order, lasting until Gov. Roy Cooper’s current state of emergency is rescinded, aims to encourage more Black, Hispanic and Native American residents to get tested.

    Mandy Cohen, state secretary of Health and Human Services, also announced the creation of up to 300 free temporary testing sites throughout July.

    The expansion comes even as Cohen said the state needs more testing supplies from the federal government. Cohen said she and Cooper discussed the need for more chemical reagents Monday with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

    While test results previously took 2 to 3 days to get back results in June, Cohen said supply issues have increased current waits to a week in some cases.

    North Carolina reported a high of nearly 1,000 coronavirus hospitalizations Tuesday, along with a two-week low in daily completed tests with less than 13,000 performed.


    Long-term care providers push for public health emergency to be extended

    4:22 PM CT on 7/7/20

    In a letter to HHS, the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) is requesting that the public health emergency be extended beyond July 26 “so that long term and post-acute care providers can continue to offer the most efficient and effective care possible during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.”

    AHCA/NCAL suggests the public health emergency be extended until there is a vaccine for COVID-19 and recommends that, once a vaccine is developed, that nursing homes and assisted living communities be prioritized, according to a news release.

    “With the virus continuing to surge across the country, now is not the time to stand down HHS’ extensive supports and flexibilities to combat the virus,” the July 6 letter reads.

    AHCA/NCAL particularly highlights the importance of the Social Security Act Section 1135 and Section 1812(f) waivers, which loosen restrictions on providing care for Medicare and Medicaid patients, among other things.


    Nurses test positive twice as often as physicians in central Indiana

    2:55 PM CT on 7/7/20

    Nurses tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 more than twice as frequently as physicians in central Indiana, according to a dashboard of data from drive-through testing sites.

    The dashboard, created by hc1 and Eli Lilly, aggregates testing results and survey data from patients who received COVID-19 tests at drive-through sites in central Indiana between April 6 and May 22. The positive detection rate was 18.2% for nurses and 7.8% for physicians.

    Other key findings include the most common pre-existing conditions and symptoms reported. Chronic lung disease and diabetes were the most common conditions reported by those who tested positive. Of the six symptoms collected, coughing was most often reported, while shortness of breath was the least common.

    However, the detected rate increased with each symptom reported. More than 31% of patients who said they had all six symptoms tested positive.

    “Understanding the symptoms of patients is critical as we continue to better understand COVID-19,” said Dr. Daniel Skovronsky, Lilly’s chief scientific officer and president of Lilly Research Laboratories.


    HHS to provide free tests in 3 cities with COVID case spikes

    1:41 PM CT on 7/7/20

    HHS will temporarily make available free COVID-19 testing in three U.S. cities to deal with a recent spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, the agency said Tuesday.

    Jacksonville, Fla.; Baton Rouge, La.; and Edinburg, Texas, will each receive up to 5,000 tests per day for five to 12 days. People five years of age and older will be eligible for free testing, even if they don’t have symptoms or live in the community where the testing takes place. The temporary boost in testing is meant to supplement, not substitute, ongoing state and federal testing efforts, HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Brett Giroir said during a press call.

    According to Giroir, a team led by White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx determined a testing surge would help the cities address the outbreak because they fell within a “sweet spot” of the team’s criteria.

    The Trump administration is scrambling to cope with a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases, especially among people under 40 years old.


    COVID-19 vaccine candidates secure funds

    11:53 AM CT on 7/7/20

    HHS and the Department of Defense will spend more than $2 billion funding commercial-scale manufacturing demonstrations for a COVID-19 vaccine candidate and potential anti-viral antibody treatment, the agencies said Tuesday.

    In return, the federal government will own all doses produced by the demonstration projects, including 100 million doses of Novavax’s vaccine candidate and up to 300,000 doses of Regeneron’s COVID-19 therapeutic. The vaccine doses could be used in clinical trials or—if the FDA grants emergency use authorization—a vaccination campaign. Similarly, the FDA could approve or issue emergency use authorization for Regeneron’s antibody treatment to make it available to COVID-19 patients.

    Both moves are part of the Trump administration’s initiative to speed up the development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

    The manufacturing demonstrations “will take place while clinical trials are underway. Working in parallel this way shaves months off the traditional product development timeline,” HHS said in a statement.

    FDA’s emergency use authorization power allows the agency to make available unapproved products or allow unapproved use of an approved product. The agency recently revoked emergency use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients because of serious side effects, including cardiac problems.


    Trump donors among early recipients of coronavirus loans

    9:50 AM CT on 7/7/20

    (AP) As much as $273 million in federal coronavirus aid was awarded to more than 100 companies that are owned or operated by major donors to President Donald Trump's election efforts, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data.

    Many were among the first to be approved for a loan in early April, when the administration was struggling to launch the lending program. And only eight businesses had to wait until early May before securing the aid, according to the AP's review of data released Monday.

    The Trump-connected companies obtained the aid through the Paycheck Protection Program, which extends a lifeline to small businesses struggling to navigate the pandemic. Fast-food chains like Muy Brands, oil and gas companies and white-collar firms were all granted a slice of more than $659 billion in low-interest business loans that will be forgiven if the money is used on payroll, rent and similar expenses.

    All told, the Trump supporters who run these companies have contributed at least $11.1 million since May 2015 to Trump's campaign committees, the Republican National Committee and America First Action, a super PAC that has been endorsed by Trump, the AP review found. Each donor gave at least $20,000.

    There is no evidence the companies received favorable treatment as a result of their ties to Trump, and the businesses account for just a fraction of the overall spending under the program.

    But the distribution of relief money is coming under heightened scrutiny after the Trump administration initially refused to reveal which companies received loans, only to cave under growing bipartisan pressure from Congress. On Monday, the Treasury Department released the names of companies that received loans that were greater than $150,000, though they didn't release specific dollar figures and instead gave ranges for the dollar value of the aid.


    New rules: Foreign pupils must leave US if classes go online

    9:36 PM CT on 7/6/2020

    (AP) International students will be forced to leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools offer classes entirely online this fall, under new guidelines issued Monday by federal immigration authorities.

    The guidelines, issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, provide additional pressure for universities to reopen even amid growing concerns about the recent spread of COVID-19 among young adults. Colleges received the guidance the same day that some institutions, including Harvard University, announced that all instruction will be offered remotely.

    President Donald Trump has insisted that schools and colleges return to in-person instruction as soon as possible. Soon after the guidance was released, Trump repeated on Twitter that schools must reopen this fall, adding that Democrats want to keep schools closed “for political reasons, not for health reasons.”

    “They think it will help them in November. Wrong, the people get it!” Trump wrote.

    Under the updated rules, international students must take at least some of their classes in person. New visas will not be issued to students at schools or programs that are entirely online. And even at colleges offering a mix of in-person and online courses this fall, international students will be barred from taking all their classes online.

    It creates an urgent dilemma for thousands of international students who became stranded in the U.S. last spring after the coronavirus forced their schools to move online. Those attending schools that are staying online must “depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction,” according to the guidance.

    The American Council on Education, which represents university presidents, said the guidelines are “horrifying" and will result in confusion as schools look for ways to reopen safely.

    Of particular concern is a stipulation saying students won’t be exempt from the rules even if an outbreak forces their schools online during the fall term. It's unclear what would happen if a student ended up in that scenario but faced travel restrictions from their home country, said Terry Hartle, the council's senior vice president.

    “It's going to cause enormous confusion and uncertainty,” Hartle said. “ICE is clearly creating an incentive for institutions to reopen, regardless of whether or not the circumstances of the pandemic warrant it."


    West Virginia requires face masks indoors

    7:38 PM CT on 7/6/2020

    (AP) West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Monday instituted a mandatory face mask order for indoor spaces after the state reported record numbers of new coronavirus cases over the weekend.

    The Republican’s executive order, which goes into effect at midnight, requires everyone over the age of 9 to wear face coverings inside buildings when social distancing isn’t possible.

    Confirmed virus cases in the state have risen 30% in the last two weeks.

    State health officials have urged residents to wear masks, but the governor had previously said a mask mandate would be politically divisive and difficult to enforce. On Monday, he said he could wait no longer.

    According to the census, nearly 1.8 million people live in West Virginia.


    Ohio hospitals see $3.3B dent from COVID-19

    5:36 PM CT on 7/6/2020

    (Crain's Cleveland Business) Although Ohio's hospitals have received $1.93 billion in federal funds, it doesn't make up for the financial impact they've seen thus far of $3.3 billion, according to the Ohio Hospital Association.

    Between March 9, when a public health emergency was declared, and May 1, when some elective procedures resumed, Ohio hospitals suffered a total of $2.38 billion in lost revenue and emergency expenses, according to the association, which predicts that hospitals in the state are still losing a combined $6 million in revenue each day due to low patient volumes and decreased hospital utilization.

    The $1.93 billion Ohio hospitals received in total CARES Act funding from the provider relief fund and delayed cuts to Medicaid disproportionate share funding still leaves a $1.38 billion funding gap that the association says will continue to grow without additional financial relief.

    "We have received a significant amount of funding from the CARES Act but not enough to offset the losses that a lot of the hospitals have experienced to date," said OHA spokesman John Palmer. "I know there continues to be relief efforts from state as well as the federal government. … It is something that we continue to pursue from that standpoint as well … and then the other aspect is we're just seeing patient volume still not rising to where it should be in particular service lines."


    Arizona officials: Most virus cases involve younger people

    3:04 PM CT on 7/6/2020

    (AP) The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona has now surpassed 100,000 and younger people, not the elderly, make up more than half of them, state health officials said Monday.

    The Department of Health Services said more than 62,000 of the 101,441 reported cases involve people younger than 44.

    DHS Director Dr. Cara Christ said it's people between 20 and 44 who can drive community spread of COVID-19.

    Last week, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey ordered bars, gyms and movie theaters to close for three weeks in Arizona, which leads the U.S. in new virus cases per capita. The action has drawn criticism from some Republicans and defiance from one metro Phoenix chain of health clubs.

    “We urge every Arizonan to follow Gov. Ducey’s executive orders to contain the spread and take simple precautions, such as wearing a face-covering when out in public and avoiding gatherings of people,” Christ said.

    Totals released Monday by state health officials include an additional 3,352 confirmed cases and one death. However, they said the figures may be an undercount because of a lag in reporting from hospitals over the weekend. The number of reported COVID-19 deaths stands at 1,810.

    Arizona remains high in terms of positive tests and coronavirus hospitalizations. While the test positivity rate nationwide is around 9%, Arizona is around 13.4%. The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients on Sunday was 3,212, a new high, according to state data. Hospital capacity statewide is currently around 89%.

    Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said in an interview on ABC News on Sunday that the surging cases are causing a crisis involving testing shortages in the city.

    Gallego, a Democrat, said some residents over the weekend had to line up for eight hours in cars to get COVID-19 tests and the federal government has been slow to help.


    New Jersey virus transmission rate ticks up as outbreaks reported

    1:34 PM CT on 7/6/2020

    (AP) The rate of transmission of COVID-19 in New Jersey has exceeded 1.0 for the first time in a month and a half, Gov. Phil Murphy said on Monday.

    That’s the average number of people infected by each infectious person.

    The Democratic governor said there were several outbreaks across the state that officials found to be directly tied to travel to other hotspots, including several cases linked to people who attended a wedding in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

    Visitors to New Jersey from South Carolina and 15 other states were asked last month to self-quarantine for two weeks.

    New Jersey Transit on Monday resumed full rail and light rail service after a break because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

    Also back Monday were youth day camps, in-person summer school and school graduation ceremonies, capped at 500 people and required to be outside.

    Murphy had earlier announced the reopening as part of Stage 2, of three. Before the Fourth of July holiday, nearly a dozen different sectors reopened, though with limited capacity. They include: amusement parks, aquariums, boardwalk arcades, bowling alleys, casinos, libraries and museums.

    Rail riders and NJ Transit workers must wear masks under the governor’s reopening mandate.

    New Jersey’s coronavirus trends have continued to head in the right direction, while other states are seeing cases spike again.

    Twenty more deaths were announced, increasing the statewide total to more than 13,300. More than 200 positive cases were reported, bringing the total amount of cases to about 173,600.


    Miami-Dade County imposing restrictions after cases spike

    12:39 PM CT on 7/6/2020

    (AP) Florida's biggest county ordered restaurants and gyms closed again Monday because of a rise in confirmed coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, as the U.S. emerged from a Fourth of July weekend of picnics, pool parties and beach outings that health officials fear could fuel the rapidly worsening outbreak.

    The see-saw effect — restrictions lifted, then reversed after a resurgence of cases — has been seen around the U.S. in recent weeks and is expected again after a long holiday that saw party-goers and sunbathers gathering, many without masks, on one of the biggest weekends of the summer.

    Confirmed cases are on the rise in 41 out of 50 states plus the District of Columbia, and the percentage of tests coming back positive for the virus is increasing in 39 states.

    Florida, which recorded an all-time high of 11,400 cases Saturday and has seen its positive test rate over the past two weeks reach more than 18%, has been especially hard hit, along with other Sunbelt states such as Arizona, California and Texas.

    In Florida's Miami-Dade County, population 2.7 million, Mayor Carlos Gimenez issued an emergency order closing restaurants and certain other indoor places, seven weeks after they were allowed to reopen.

    “We want to ensure that our hospitals continue to have the staffing necessary to save lives,” Gimenez said in a statement.


    Latino, Black neighborhoods struggle with test disparities

    11:43 AM CT on 7/6/2020

    (AP) As the pandemic explodes in diverse states like Arizona and Florida, people in communities of color who have been exposed to the virus are struggling to get tested. While people nationwide complain about appointments being overbooked or waiting hours to be seen, getting a test can be even harder in America’s poorer, Hispanic and Black neighborhoods, far from middle-class areas where most chain pharmacies and urgent care clinics offering tests are found.

    “There really isn’t any testing around here," said Juan Espinosa, who went with his brother Enrique to the recent drive-up testing event in Phoenix’s largely Latino Maryvale neighborhood after a fellow construction worker was suspected of having COVID-19. “We don’t know anywhere else to go.”

    Hundreds of people lined up last week for another large-scale testing event in a different low-income area of Phoenix that's heavily Hispanic and Black.

    Arizona — the nation's leader in new confirmed infections per capita over the past two weeks — and its minority neighborhoods are just starting to feel what New York and other East Coast and Midwestern communities experienced several months ago, said Mahasin Mujahid, associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health.

    “It's the perfect storm as this hits unlevel playing fields all across the U.S.,” said Mujahid, a social epidemiologist who studies health in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

    Public health officials say widespread testing to rapidly identify and isolate infected people can help ensure residents of underserved neighborhoods get care while slowing the virus's spread.

    "Pandemics expose the inequalities in our healthcare system,” said Dr. Thomas Tsai, assistant professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a surgeon at Boston's Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “What is needed is to make testing free and as available as possible.


    Bill would grant emergency powers to Hawaii health director

    9:54 AM CT on 7/6/2020

    (AP) The Hawaii state health director could declare a public health emergency, order quarantine and contact tracing, and temporarily close schools and businesses through a measure under consideration by lawmakers.

    The proposal would also allow the Department of Health director to prohibit the sale of coronavirus tracing information. The bill would grant the director with some responsibilities currently held by the governor.

    Health Director Bruce Anderson said he supports the proposal spearheaded by Attorney General Clare Connors.

    “I’m sure we’re going to see more pandemics and being ready to respond quickly and appropriately is going to be key to keeping these incidents under control," Anderson said.

    The bill would give the director more flexibility in dealing with health emergencies, Anderson said.

    “It gets you around the politics," he said. “You’re taking actions that are appropriate.”


    Healthcare groups urge mask wearing as White House rejects national plan

    8:38 AM CT on 7/6/2020

    The American Medical Association, American Hospital Association and American Nurses Association joined forces on Monday to push the American public to wear face mask and help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

    In an open letter, the three organizations warned that the country is "watching in real-time as the dramatic uptick in COVID-19 cases is erasing our hard-won gains" as ICU capacity dwindles and PPE becomes scarce once again.

    Americans once again must commit to wearing face masks, regularly washing their hands and maintaining physical distancing to reduce the virus' spread, the groups said. 

    "The toll of this pandemic is already staggering, and it will take many more months, perhaps years, to truly understand its impact on our country and our way of life," the letter said. "But what is certain – and what the science and evidence are telling us – is that COVID-19 is not behind us and we must resist confusing re-opening with returning to normalcy. Doing so will escalate this crisis and result in more suffering and death."

    But the White House on Monday continued to reject calls for a national mask-wearing policy. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told "Fox and Friends" that President Donald Trump sees mask wearing as a "state-to-state issue" and said a national order would not be coming.


    Scientists say WHO underplaying risk of airborne spread of COVID-19

    8:15 PM CT on 7/5/2020

    The Guardian is reporting that a group of 239 scientists from 32 countries including the U.S. are drafting a letter warning that the World Health Organization is downplaying the potential for COVID-19 to spread through airborne transmission. They also warn the government needs to implement control measures, such as wearing masks and more tightly regulating ventilation and air conditioning to minimize recirculating air. 

    WHO guidance states that the virus is transmitted primarily between people through respiratory droplets and contact. Aerosol transmission involves much smaller particles that can remain in the air for long periods of time and can travel farther.

    Members of the WHO’s infection prevention committee have said that while aerosol transmission may play some role, there is overwhelming evidence that the primary routes of transmission are through direct contact and respiratory droplets expelled during coughing, sneezing or speech. They said introducing new measures to guard against aerosol transmission was unfeasible and unlikely to make much difference to the spread of infection.

    The letter due to be published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases is authored by Lidia Morawska, of the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, and Donald Milton, of the University of Maryland, and has been endorsed by more than 200 scientists, including some who have been involved in drawing up the WHO’s advice.

    They say emerging evidence, including from settings such as meat processing plants where there have been outbreaks, suggests that airborne transmission could be more important than the WHO has acknowledged.


    Texas leaders warn of hospital capacity, ask for lockdowns

    6:12 PM CT on 7/5/2020

    (AP) Leaders in two of Texas’ biggest cities are calling on the governor to empower local governments to order residents to stay home as the state’s continued surge in coronavirus cases tests hospital capacity.

    Austin Mayor Steve Adler told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that he wants Gov. Gregg Abbott, a Republican, to return control of his city to the local government as its hospitals face a potential crisis.

    “If we don’t change the trajectory, then I am within two weeks of having our hospitals overrun,” Adler, a Democrat, said. “And in our ICUs, I could be 10 days away from that.”

    Texas reported 3,449 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Sunday, after a record high of 8,258 Saturday. State health officials also reported 29 additional deaths, bringing the totals to 2,637 fatalities and 195,239 confirmed cases. A record 8,181 Texans with COVID-19 were hospitalized Sunday.

    The true number of cases is likely much higher because many people have not been tested and studies suggest that people can be infected and not feel sick.

    The Fourth of July weekend has also seen some defiance of Abbott’s orders closing bars and requiring people to wear face coverings in public in much of the state.

    The mask order — which carries a $250 fine — came as part of the most dramatic about-face Abbott has made as he retreats from what stood out as one of America’s swiftest reopenings.


    Mexican town residents block road to US border

    3:45 PM CT on 7/5/2020

    (AP) Residents of the town of Sonoyta, across from Lukeville, Arizona, briefly blocked the main road leading south from the U.S. border over the weekend over fears of coronavirus outbreaks.

    Arizona has seen a major upsurge in infections and there were worries about intensified contagion during the July 4 weekend.

    Sonoyta Mayor José Ramos Arzate issued a statement Saturday “inviting U.S. tourists not to visit Mexico.”

    Local residents organized to block the road with their cars on the Mexican side Saturday.

    Video posted by residents showed several travelers complaining that they had a right to cross because they were Mexican citizens. The road is the quickest route to the seaside resort of Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point.

    Ramos Arzate wrote that people from the United States should only be allowed in “for essential activities, and for that reason, the checkpoint and inspection point a few meters from the Sonoyta-Lukeville AZ crossing will continue operating.”


    FDA head Hahn refuses to back up Trump's "harmless" claim

    1:32 PM CT on 7/5/2020

    (AP) The Food and Drug Administration commissioner is declining to back up President Donald Trump’s claim that 99% of coronavirus cases are “harmless.”

    Dr. Stephen Hahn tells CNN and ABC that he’s “not going to get into who is right and who is wrong,” but that government data clearly show “this is a serious problem.”

    He adds that “any case is tragic” and that to stem the tide of surging cases people should follow government guidance to practice social distancing and wear a mask.

    In Fourth of July remarks, Trump said the U.S. was testing too much and falsely asserted that “by so doing, we show cases, 99% of which are totally harmless.”

    The World Health Organization in fact has said about 20% of those diagnosed with COVID-19 progress to severe disease, including pneumonia and respiratory failure. Those with mild or no symptoms, meanwhile, could spread the virus to others.

    The mayor of Austin, Texas, where COVID-19 cases are surging, called Trump’s remarks “dangerous” and “wrong.” Mayor Steve Adler urged people to listen to local officials for public safety guidance rather than the “ambiguous message coming out of Washington.”


    Phoenix mayor says virus test shortage a 'crisis'

    11:02 AM CT on 7/5/2020

    (AP) Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego is pointing to a “crisis” involving coronavirus testing shortages in her city due to surging cases in Arizona, which leads the U.S. in new coronavirus cases per capita.

    Gallego, a Democrat, said some residents over the weekend had to line up for eight hours by car to get COVID-19 tests and that the federal government has been slow to help.

    Gallego tells ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that Arizona went from “zero to 60” by being one of the first states to reopen after it was among the last to implement stay-at-home orders.

    She says that led to an explosion of cases, citing crowded nightclubs with free champagne and people unwittingly spreading the virus at large family gatherings.

    She faults mixed public messaging after President Donald Trump’s recent visit to Phoenix. Gallego says while she was urging people to stay at home and avoid gatherings of more than 10 people, Trump undercut that by holding large events and not wearing a mask.


    US holiday fuels worries about skyrocketing virus cases

    9:34 AM CT on 7/5/2020

    (AP) The U.S. has dipped under 50,000 new daily infections for the first time in four days, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, but experts fear celebrations for the July 4th weekend will act like rocket fuel for the nation’s surging coronavirus outbreak.

    Johns Hopkins on Sunday counted 45,300 new coronavirus infections reported Saturday in the U.S. after three days in which the daily count reached as high as 54,500 new cases. The lower figure does not mean the situation in the U.S. is improving, it could be due to reduced reporting on a national holiday.

    The country has the most infections and virus-related deaths in the world, with 2.8 million cases and nearly 130,000 dead, according to the university. Experts say the true toll of the pandemic is significantly higher, due to people who died before they were tested and missed mild cases.

    Worldwide, nearly 11.3 million people have been infected and over 531,000 have died, with outbreaks surging in India, South Africa, Pakistan, Brazil and several other Latin American countries. In a first, South Africa on Sunday reported more than 10,000 new confirmed cases in a single day.

    To show just how steep the U.S. infection curve is, authorities were reporting under 20,000 new infections a day as recently as June 15. On Saturday, Florida and Texas reported more record daily increases in confirmed cases and virus-related deaths have begun to rise.

    Despite warnings by health experts to limit gatherings, President Donald Trump went ahead with a speech at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota on Friday and an evening of tribute and fireworks Saturday on the National Mall in Washington. Trump used the nation's Independence Day as an occasion to assail those who do not support him and did not mention the horrific death toll from the pandemic.

    Pat Lee of Upper Dublin, Pennsylvania, and two friends, none in masks, gathered near the event in Washington.

    “POTUS said it would go away,” Lee said of the pandemic, using an acronym for president of the United States. “Masks, I think, are like a hoax.”

    In another worrying sign, the World Health Organization said member states reported more than 212,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world on Saturday, the highest single-day increase since the start of the pandemic. The Geneva-based organization said more than 60% of the confirmed cases reports it received were in the Americas, which includes the U.S and Brazil.

    Faced with rising infections, many U.S. communities canceled parades and fireworks and cautioned people against hosting large gatherings.


    Texas has its biggest daily rise in virus cases

    7:47 PM CT on 7/4/20

    (AP) Texas has reported its biggest daily increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases — 8,258. Hospitalizations also continue to climb. 

    Much of Texas began mandating face coverings Friday on the orders of Gov. Greg Abbott. The mask order carries a $250 fine. The order is the most dramatic about-face that Abbott has made as he retreats from what stood out as one of America’s swiftest reopenings. 

    Texas health officials on Saturday said the state’s total number of confirmed coronavirus cases is now at 191,790. State health officials also reported 33 additional deaths linked to COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. That brings Texas’ total to 2,608 deaths. Hospitalizations stood at 7,890 on Saturday, an increase of 238 from Friday.


    WHO reports highest 1-day virus case increase

    2:45 PM CT on 7/4/20

    (AP) The World Health Organization says member states reported more than 212,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 to the global body Saturday, the highest single-day increase since the start of the pandemic.

    The Geneva-based WHO said the highest number of new infections was reported from the Americas region, which includes the United States and Brazil, with almost 130,000 confirmed cases.

    WHO’s count can differ from other global case tallies due to official reporting delays.


    Florida has record number of new virus cases

    12:24 PM CT on 7/4/20

    (AP) The Fourth of July holiday weekend began Saturday with some sobering numbers in the Sunshine State: Florida logged a record number of people testing positive for the coronavirus.

    State health officials reported 11,445 new cases, a single-day record since the pandemic began earlier this year. The latest count brings the total number of cases in the state to more than 190,000. A website maintained by the Department of Health shows an additional 245 hospitalizations from the outbreak.

    Local officials and health experts are worried that people will gather over the holiday weekend and spread the virus through close contact. They’ve tried to mitigate spread by shutting bars statewide. Some regional attractions, such as Zoo Miami and Jungle Island, have closed. Universal Studios in Orlando is open.

    Mayor Carlos Gimenez closed Miami-Dade County beaches through the weekend. Municipalities elsewhere in South Florida, from Vero Beach to Broward County, did the same. Beaches in the Florida Keys are also closed. Public beaches along Pinellas County’s 35 miles of sand are open.


    Trump signs extension of COVID-relief fund for businesses

    10:06 AM CT on 7/4/20

    (AP) President Donald Trump on Saturday signed into law a temporary extension of a subsidy program for small businesses battered by the coronavirus,

    The legislation extends the June 30 deadline for applying for the program to Aug. 8. Lawmakers created the program in March and have modified it twice since, adding money on one occasion and more recently permitting more flexible use of the funding despite some grumbling among GOP conservatives.

    About $130 billion of $660 billion approved for the program remains eligible for businesses to seek direct federal subsidies for payroll and other costs such as rent, though demand for the Paycheck Protection Program has pretty much dried up in recent weeks.

    The Democratic-controlled House voted on Wednesday to approve the extension of the program after the Republican-controlled Senate did the same.

    Trump had been expected to sign the measure.


    Curfews, closures as COVID-19 burdens Florida hospitals

    5:37 PM CT on 7/3/20

    (AP) As coronovirus infections surge across Florida and hospital authorities nervously count their available intensive care beds, the state's most populous county is closing down again, to contain the spread.

    Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said the 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew will be in place indefinitely.Florida reported 341 new hospital admissions of COVID-19 patients on Friday, the biggest daily jump since the pandemic began.

    Miami's largest hospital said it will begin restricting elective procedures on Monday. Two large medical networks in the Tampa Bay area also said they'll limit non-emergency procedures at eight hospitals next week, since Pinellas County has just 10% of its ICU units available.

    The state health department also reported 9,488 new confirmed cases and 67 deaths, a day after setting a new daily record with more than 10,000 cases.The county's latest statistics showed more than 1,400 COVID patients in Miami hospitals, including 306 in intensive care, occupying about 73% of the ICU beds that would be otherwise available.


    WHO urges focus on first wave of coronavirus

    3:46 PM CT on 7/3/20

    (AP) The World Health Organization's emergencies chief says "we need to put up a fight now" during a peak in the current wave of the coronavirus pandemic — rather than focusing on when a second wave might come.

    Dr. Michael Ryan said the world will be much better at fighting a second wave, if people can learn the lessons of fighting the first wave.

    WHO officials emphasized mask-wearing, social distancing, and hygiene by individuals, along with contact-tracing and tracking of cases by health authorities as key strategies to fight the virus. They say governments and individuals should contour their policies and behavior based on the outbreak's status in their countries.

    Ryan said the world was experiencing a "second peak in the first wave" — a situation in which the virus hasn't been suppressed enough to quell transmission to end the first one.


    Hot-spot Arizona reaches ICU capacity of 91%

    1:33 PM CT on 7/3/20

    (AP) Arizona has reached new peaks in hospitalizations and emergency department visits, indicating the state is only intensifying as a coronavirus hot spot.

    State health officials say the capacity of hospital intensive care units is at an all-time high of 91%.

    The number of people hospitalized Thursday due to a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 was 3,013, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. It's the first time reaching 3,000.

    People who went to the ER because of COVID-19 symptoms numbered a record 1,847, nearly 500 more than a day earlier.
    The state reported Friday 4,433 confirmed cases and 31 deaths. The total stands at 91,858 cases and 1,788 deaths.


    Gov: New color-coded alert system can help Ohio fight virus

    11:28 AM CT on 7/3/20

    (AP) — Ohio is using a new color-coded, county-by-county coronavirus alert and advisory system to assess which areas may be seeing flare-ups of cases and should take additional precautions, Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday as he also announced much-awaited guidance for reopening schools.

    The alert system, begun Thursday, takes into account seven indicators for each county, such as sustained increases in cases and in coronavirus-related hospital admissions, outpatient visits and emergency room visits, and the proportion of cases that aren't connected to congregate settings, such as prisons or nursing homes. State officials said they also intend to factor in information from coronavirus testing and contact-tracing.

    No counties are listed in the most concerning level — labeled purple — but Columbus and surrounding Franklin County are being watched closely as their data indicators are trending in that direction based on "explosive" growth in positive tests, DeWine said.


    Miami-Dade mayor sets new curfew amid hospital staffing shortages

    9:39 AM CT on 7/3/20

    (AP) Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said he's instituting an overnight curfew and closing some businesses as the county's number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalization rates continue to rise.

    Gimenez said Thursday night that the 10 p.m.to 6 a.m. curfew, which begins Friday, will be in place indefinitely.

    On Thursday, Florida reported a new daily record of 10,109 COVID positive cases. The state's health department on Thursday also tallied 325 new coronavirus hospitalizations in Florida, one of the biggest 24-hour jumps since the pandemic began.

    Gimenez cited staffing shortages at local hospitals in announcing the curfew. "I met with our medical experts this afternoon to discuss what other steps we can take to stop the spread of virus infection and ensure that our hospitals have sufficient capacity," he said Thursday. "At this time, we have plenty of beds, but some hospitals are experiencing staffing shortages."


    HealthPartners closes clinics, eliminates 200 jobs

    7:48 PM CT on 7/2/20

    Bloomington, Minn.-based HealthPartners will shut down two of its clinics, which will eliminate 200 jobs, according to media reports.

    The Star Tribune reported that HealthPartners is moving toward telehealth amid the COVID-19 pandemic and that's shifting where the health system sees the need for clinics and medical offices.

    HealthPartners has approximately 26,000 employees and nine hospitals. It previously laid off more than 400 workers in late 2019. 


    Gov: New color-coded alert system can help Ohio fight virus

    6:08 PM CT on 7/2/20

    (AP) Ohio is using a new color-coded, county-by-county coronavirus alert and advisory system to assess which areas may be seeing flare-ups of cases and should take additional precautions, Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday as he also announced much-awaited guidance for reopening schools.

    The alert system takes into account seven indicators for each county, such as sustained increases in cases and in coronavirus-related hospital admissions, outpatient visits and emergency room visits, and the proportion of cases that aren't connected to congregate settings, such as prisons or nursing homes. State officials said they also intend to factor in information from coronavirus testing and contact-tracing.

    “This information should inform people. I think it should fire people up," DeWine said. “I think it should get people excited and say, 'Hey, we're tougher than this. We're not gonna let this happen to our state. We are not gonna be Florida. We are not gonna be Texas. We are not gonna be Italy.' ... This is a long battle, and we won Round 1, maybe Round 2, but this is 15 Round heavyweight championship, and we’ve got to stay in there and we’ve got to stay punching.”

    No counties are listed in the most concerning level — labeled purple — but Columbus and surrounding Franklin County are being watched closely as their data indicators are trending in that direction based on “explosive” growth in positive tests, DeWine said.

    Franklin and six more counties — Butler, Cuyahoga, Hamilton, Huron, Montgomery and Trumbull — are labeled red, indicating risk there is considered very high and people there should limit activity away from home as much as possible and wear masks when they go out. Twenty-eight counties were in the orange category Thursday, and 53 were labeled with the least-concerning yellow.


    Despite COVID surge, Mexico avoids overwhelmed hospitals

    4:06 PM CT on 7/2/20

    (AP) In a Mexican army barracks, hospital beds have replaced bunks. Oxygen tanks fill the room that held assault rifles. The building that previously housed soldiers between missions to eradicate opium poppy crops is now outfitted for up to 100 patients infected with the coronavirus.

    The two-story barracks is one of more than 100 spaces converted by the military to treat COVID-19. But since it opened in May, only about half of its beds have been occupied.

    That's because Mexico's health system has so far not been overwhelmed by the pandemic. The government early on chose to invest in expanding hospital beds rather than testing for the virus. Despite recording nearly three times more deaths than health officials initially predicted, beds are widely available.

    The government now has nearly 900 designated COVID-19 hospitals around the country, up from 645 in April, said Health Undersecretary Hugo López-Gatell, the government's point man on the pandemic.

    "The net result is the objective that we have sought since the start," López-Gatell said, explaining that Mexico had successfully avoided any emergency "where there are people who can't be attended to because there isn't a bed available." He said that means not just beds, but personnel and other equipment too.

    Mexico ranks seventh globally in pandemic deaths, with more than 26,000 reported fatalities from COVID-19, a figure considered a significant undercount because of the low testing rate.

    Adding bed capacity was wise, but hospital occupancy is as high as it is because the government has not managed the pandemic well, said Gordon McCord, an associate dean and economics professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego.

    Abundant testing, contact tracing and physical distancing "must go hand-in-hand with preparing hospitals," said McCord, who focuses on public health and development economics. "No amount of the latter will be enough without the former."

    As with any disease, some deaths are inevitable regardless of the number and type of hospital beds available. Experts say another contributing factor is the reluctance of many people to go to the hospital, something Mexico City's mayor sought to counter by announcing expanded testing and a door-to-door informational campaign in June.

    Much of the expansion of beds for COVID-19 patients has been at lower-level facilities that are not designed to handle serious cases like a top-tier hospital, said Dr. Francisco Moreno, an infectious disease specialist and head of the COVID-19 response at ABC Medical Center in Mexico City.

    While there are no reliable statistics on whether coronavirus patients are more or less likely to survive in Mexico than another country, Moreno described the death rate in lower-level hospitals as worrisome.

    "The mortality in those hospitals is very high, but the system hasn't been 'saturated' because you have beds available," he said. "If you open beds in other hospitals, you not only don't have intensive care services, but you also don't have the doctors who are trained to attend to these patients."


    Study finds COVID 10-40 times more deadly than seasonal flu in New Orleans area

    2:03 PM CT on 7/2/20

    A prevalence study conducted in two Louisiana parishes found 7.8% of residents had been exposed to COVID-19, with an infection fatality rate of 1.6%. That’s 10 to 40 times more deadly than the seasonal flu.

    The study, conducted by Ochsner Health, tested more than 2,500 Jefferson and Orleans Parish residents for COVID-19 and antibodies. Based on the prevalence rate, the study determined more than 64,000 people in those parishes have been infected. Black residents were more likely to be exposed to COVID-19 with an infection rate of 10.3% compared to 5.9%, but fatality rates were not significantly different.

    “Data collected in this study tells us that the actions of our state and local leaders to limit the spread of COVID-19 during the height of the outbreak in the spring were effective and necessary,” said Dr. Robert Hart, chief medical officer at Ochsner. “The collective efforts of our leaders, businesses and neighbors have saved lives.”


    Mississippi pausing reopening process after COVID surge

    12:03 PM CT on 7/2/20

    (AP) Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday the state is pausing its efforts to reopen the economy after a recent surge in new reported coronavirus cases.

    "Things are getting worse, not better," Reeves said at a news briefing.

    Mississippi reported a peak of 1,092 reported cases of the virus in a single day last week. The state Health Department has consistently reported 450 to 700 new cases each day since. On Wednesday, Mississippi was reporting 653 new cases.

    Like other states across the South, Mississippi has led the nation in its efforts to reopen the economy. Many restaurants have been open for dine-in for more than a month at limited capacity. Most state agencies are open. Movie theaters and entertainment venues are open.

    The governor had initially planned to completely reopen the state by July 1. But on that date, he said a goal that is no longer feasible.

    Reeves and state health officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs were adamant that efforts to reopen the state's economy are not the cause of Mississippi's spike.

    "It's not that our current rules are too loose," Reeves said. "Our challenge is that our people aren't following even the simplest of rules. Additional orders are useless if people will not follow what we have in place now."

    Dobbs said cases are increasing in those between the ages of 20 to 29 and in more urban counties of the state, including Hinds County in the Jackson area. He said most cases arose from people attending large gatherings and not following safety recommendations.

    "It's very simple. If we can't maintain the simple things — six-feet, a mask and small groups only — we wouldn't be having this conversation," Dobbs said. "The virus would actually be petering out on its own. The draconian measures that we had to implement early on are not necessary if people will follow the simple rules."


    Health official suggests Kansas blew chance for virus respite

    9:50 AM CT on 7/2/20

    (AP) Kansas' top public health official predicted Wednesday that the state will face steeper increases in coronavirus cases and suggested that it blew its chance for a summer respite from the pandemic by reopening its economy too quickly.

    Dr. Lee Norman, the top administrator at the state Department of Health and Environment, blamed a recent surge in new confirmed cases on gatherings over the long Memorial Day weekend and the May 26 lifting of statewide restrictions on businesses and gatherings. He said Kansas remains struck in its first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

    "We'd have to have some calm before the next wave, and we're not there or anywhere close to it," Norman said after a Statehouse news conference during which he described Kansas as being "in the middle of a bad convergence."

    Norman's comments came a day before Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who appointed him, was to issue an executive order requiring people to wear masks in public. The order could be toothless in much of the state because a law enacted last month allows counties to opt out, and a mask requirement might not be enforced even if counties don't do that.

    Kansas has had 14,990 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started, including 547 new ones since Monday for a 3.8% increase in two days. There were also two new COVID-19 deaths since Monday, raising the state's overall tally to 272.

    Since Kelly lifted statewide restrictions on businesses and public gatherings immediately after Memorial Day, Kansas has had 5,653 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, which amounted to a 61% increase, and 84 deaths, for a 45% jump.

    The Democratic governor's action left the rules for businesses and gatherings to the state's 105 counties and came after weeks of criticism from the Republican-controlled Legislature that she was reopening the economy too slowly.

    "We are seeing a significant increase in clusters related to gatherings where masks are not being worn, bars in particular," Norman said. "I'm worried about what we're going to see happening over July Fourth."


    House passes infrastructure package with $30 billion for healthcare providers

    8:03 PM CT on 7/1/20

    The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a massive infrastructure bill including $30 billion for healthcare providers as the COVID-19 pandemic has caused extreme stress to the nation’s healthcare system.

    The White House has expressed interest in an infrastructure package, but Senate Republicans aren’t likely to take up the House package in its current form. The House passed the bill on a 233-188 vote.

    Democrats' plan sets aside $30 billion for healthcare sector infrastructure, including money to upgrade hospitals, bolster community health centers, improve clinical laboratory infrastructure, support the Indian Health Service system, and increase capacity for community-based care, according to an outline of the legislation.

    The House bill also would also invest $100 billion in high-speed broadband internet access, which could ensure telehealth services are more widely accessible.


    Florida hospital in virus-hit county scales back surgeries

    6:07 PM CT on 7/1/20

    (AP) The largest hospital in Florida's hardest-hit county in the coronavirus  pandemic announced Wednesday that it is scaling back elective surgeries and other procedures because of a new surge in cases.

    Jackson Health System, Miami's largest hospital with about 1,200 regular beds and 200 intensive care unit beds, said it would begin limiting nonemergency admissions starting Monday because of "a steady increase" in the number of coronavirus patients over the past few weeks.

    Miami-Dade County now has 37,961 confirmed cases and 1,000 deaths, the state Department of Health reported on its website Wednesday. Health officials reported 6,500 new cases statewide, bringing the total to 158,997 and 3,550 deaths.
    Hospital officials said at a virtual news conference Wednesday that they wanted to act quickly to make space for COVID-19 patients, saying the numbers seen in the past two weeks were "scary."

    "If this continues at the pace that we are going right now, in a period of about a month, a month and a half, we are going to be in a very difficult situation," said Jackson Health's CEO Carlos Migoya.


    Virus spike prompts about face on reopenings in California

    4:18 PM CT on 7/1/20

    (AP) California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday ordered bars and indoor dining at restaurants to close in most areas of the state for the next three weeks amid a troubling surge of new coronavirus cases throughout the state.

    The revised stay-at-home order affects 19 counties where nearly three-quarters of the state's roughly 40 million people live — including Los Angeles County.

    Newsom says indoor operations at restaurants, wineries and tasting rooms, family entertainment centers, movie theaters, zoos and museums and cardroom gambling businesses must close. Bars were ordered to close both indoor and outdoor operations.

    "The bottom line is the spread of this virus continues at a rate that is particularly concerning," Newsom said.

    The order came just days ahead of what is expected to be a busy Fourth of July weekend for the state. That worried public health officials because people were expected to gather in larger numbers than they have for months after the state relaxed its stay-at-home order allowing more businesses to open.

    Newsom did not order beaches to close, but said parking lots at all beaches in Southern California and the San Francisco Bay area would close to limit crowds. State parks — which include some beaches — will remain open, but with measures in place to reduce overcrowding.

    Newsom said the new business closure order applies to counties that have been on the state's monitoring list because of increasing coronavirus cases for three consecutive days: Contra Costa, Fresno, Glenn, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Merced, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Solano, Stanislaus, Tulare and Ventura.

    But enforcing the new rules will be difficult, Newsom said. He said seven state agencies with regulatory authority would target non-compliant businesses, including the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the Department of Consumer Affairs and the California Highway Patrol.

    And he suggested that state officials would first try to convince non-compliant businesses to cooperate instead of penalizing them.

    "It's more education. I'm not coming out with a fist. We want not come out with an open heart, recognizing the magnitude of some of these modifications," Newsom said.


    Arizona faces new closures as hospitals prep for virus surge

    2:06 PM CT on 7/1/20

    (AP) Arizona hospitals are hiring out-of-state nurses, squeezing in more beds and preparing for the possibility of making life-and-death decisions about how to ration care as they get ready for an expected surge of coronavirus patients in one of the nation's worst hot spots.

    Parents, teachers, businesses and their customers also are hunkering down for at least a month of new  closures imposed by the state in a belated effort to slow the spread of the virus and limit overcrowding at hospitals.

    Arizona and several other states that were reopening their economies have clamped back down over the past week as they eclipsed records for infections and hospitalizations. Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, however, went further than others by ordering gyms and movie theaters to close and postponing the start of school until mid-August.

    Preparing for an influx of patients, hospitals are activating plans to add more beds and staff. State officials have authorized "crisis standards of care," which tell hospitals which patients should get a ventilator or other scarce resources if there is a shortage.

    If there are more patients than can be cared for at ideal levels, patients are given a score based on their life expectancy and the likelihood their organs will fail. Hospitals are told not to consider factors like race, gender, sexual orientation or disabilities.

    Emergency rooms are not yet overwhelmed, but COVID-19 is taking its toll, said Dr. Frank DelVecchio, who works in emergency rooms at several Phoenix-area hospitals, including Valleywise Health. Nurses caring for coronavirus patients take a significant amount of time suiting up to protect themselves and can't quickly jump from room to room, he said.

    "This is just off the charts, sick patients. We're letting people go home that we'd never let go home if they were this sick," including patients with low oxygen, DelVecchio said. "We're trying to get you home oxygen. We're trying to tell you to come back if worse. Because there's not much we can do for you."

    People who have attempted or considered suicide are getting stuck for a day or more in emergency rooms because psychiatric facilities won't accept them until they have COVID-19 test results. Because suicidal patients require constant monitoring, they are sometimes placed in hallways or less private areas while awaiting results, DelVecchio said.

    Dignity Health, which operates several hospitals in the Phoenix area, is converting more areas to treat COVID-19 patients and preparing to put multiple patients in private rooms, spokeswoman Carmelle Malkovich said. It's bringing nurses from underutilized hospitals in its system to Arizona and hiring traveling nurses and respiratory therapists throughout July.

    HonorHealth, another big hospital chain in the Phoenix area, is prepared to implement the first phase of its surge plan as soon as this week, officials said in a statement. They did not explain what that means.


    Health experts slam U.S. hoarding of remdesivir

    11:43 AM CT on 7/1/20

    (AP) Health experts on Wednesday slammed the U.S. decision to hog nearly the entire global supply of remdesivir, the only drug licensed so far to treat COVID-19, warning that type of selfish behavior sets a dangerous precedent for attempts to share scarce treatments amid the pandemic.

    The U.S. government announced Tuesday that President Donald Trump had struck "an amazing deal" to buy the drug for Americans, made by Gilead Sciences. The Department of Health and Human Services said Trump has secured 500,000 treatments of the drug through September, representing 100% of Gilead's July production capacity and 90% of its capacity in August and September.

    Early trials testing remdesivir in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 found that those who received the drug recovered quicker than those who didn't. It is the only drug licensed by both the U.S. and the European Union as a treatment for those with severe illness from the coronavirus.

    Ohid Yaqub, a senior lecturer at the University of Sussex, called the move "disappointing news."

    "It so clearly signals an unwillingness to cooperate with other countries and the chilling effect this has on international agreements about intellectual property rights," Yaqub said in a statement.

    Dr. Peter Horby, who is running a large clinical trial testing several treatments for COVID-19, told the BBC that "a stronger framework" was needed to ensure fair prices and access to key medicines for people and nations around the world. He said that as an American company, Gilead was likely under "certain political pressures locally."

    British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman, James Slack, declined to criticize the United States for the move, but said the U.K. had a stockpile of remdesivir.

    Thomas Senderovitz, head of the Danish Medicines Agency, told Danish broadcaster DR that the move could endanger Europeans and others down the road.

    I have never seen anything like that. That a company chooses to sell their stock to only one country. It's very strange and quite inappropriate," he said. "Right now we have enough to make it through the summer if the intake of patients is as it is now. If a second wave comes, we may be challenged."


    Fauci: U.S. 'going in wrong direction' in coronavirus outbreak

    9:49 AM CT on 7/1/20

    (AP) The U.S. is "going in the wrong direction" with the coronavirus surging badly enough that Dr. Anthony Fauci told senators Tuesday some regions are putting the entire country at risk — just as schools and colleges are wrestling with how to safely reopen.

    With about 40,000 new cases being reported a day, Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert, said he "would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around."

    "I am very concerned," he told a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee.

    Infections are rising rapidly mostly in parts of the West and South, and Fauci and other public health experts said Americans everywhere will have to start following key recommendations if they want to get back to more normal activities like going to school.

    "We've got to get the message out that we are all in this together," by wearing masks in public and keeping out of crowds, said Fauci, infectious disease chief at the National Institutes of Health.


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