The American Petroleum Institute reported Tuesday that U.S. crude supplies dropped by 4.4 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 7. API also reported gasoline stockpiles declined by 1.3 million barrels, while distillate inventories were down by 2.9 million barrels. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Okla., storage hub, meanwhile, edged up by 1.1 million barrels for the week.
September West Texas Intermediate crude CLU20, 1.06% was at $41.72 a barrel in electronic trading, up from Tuesday’s settlement at $41.61 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Nick Note: This is a hat trick. Cushing represents domestic inventories and they are still rising in a oversupplied market. The import terminals are where all the inventory “drop” occurred reflecting Saudi manipulating the numbers by diverting supplies away from US ports. Normally we see at least 1 bulk carrier offloading at the gulf ports per day. Where i would expect to see 5 to 6 million barrels offloaded i see one. Their is you 5million inventory decline.
(CNN)Florida’s number of official Covid-19 cases in children has more than doubled over the past month, data from the state showed Tuesday. There has been a 90% increase in Covid-19 cases in US children in the last four weeks, report says Covid-19 cases among children also spiked across the country during roughly the same period. In Florida, the total number of cases in children 17 and under rose from 16,797 on July 9 to 39,735 on August 9 — an increase of 137%, according to Florida Department of Health data. Covid-19 hospitalizations among children in Florida rose from 213 to 436 during that same period, a 105% increase. Deaths among children rose from four to seven in Florida during that period. Across the country, the total number of Covid-19 cases among children rose from 179,990 on July 9 to more than 380,000 on August 6 — an increase of about 90% — according to a report published Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association. Some of the increase might be due to more testing, AAP said. That report came as recent studies suggest children could play an important role in transmission of the virus. Nick Note: Unworkable and impossible. Trump needs momie dearest back at work so the frogs believe the crises has passed….
D614G mutation is characterized by aspartic acid to glycine shift at the amino acid position 614 of a protein. Recent studies have shown that D614G mutation in the spike protein of novel coronavirus makes it more infectious, transmissible, and deadly.
What is D614G mutation?
A genetic mutation is characterized by a permanent change in the DNA sequence that may occur due to environmental factors (UV radiation), or due to an error during DNA replication process. Genetic mutations can be of many types, including missense, nonsense, insertion, deletion, duplication, frameshift, and repeat expansion mutations. D614G mutation is a missense mutation wherein an alteration in single DNA base pair causes the substitution of aspartic acid (single-letter code: D) with glycine (single-letter code: G) in the protein encoded by the mutated gene. The RNA codons that codes for aspartic acid and glycine are designed as GAU/GAC and GGU/GGC, respectively. Thus, a single mutation in the RNA codon causing A to G shift can lead to aspartic acid to glycine shift in the peptide sequence of the target protein. Glycine is a nonpolar amino acid with a single hydrogen atom as its side chain; whereas, aspartic acid is a polar amino acid with an acidic side chain. Given the substantial difference between the basic nature of these amino acids, D614G mutation is expected to have significant biological implications.
What are the implications of D614G mutation in the spike protein of novel coronavirus?
In general, viruses can undergo frequent genetic mutations because of several factors, such as natural selection and random genetic drifts. Because these factors can work sequentially, it is often very difficult to identify when a viral mutation becomes more prevalent.
In the case of a novel coronavirus, D614G mutation in the viral spike protein occurred at the initial stage of the pandemic, and recent evidence suggests that viruses containing glycine residue at position 614 have now become the most prevalent variant globally.
To identify the causative factors responsible for the rapid emergence of G614 containing coronavirus, scientists have extensively monitored all coronavirus genome sequencing data that are available globally at the Global Initiative for Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) database. Using suitable bioinformatic methods, scientists have found that G614G mutation in the viral spike protein is the most frequently occurring mutation across many geographical locations. As pseudotyped viruses,
G614 variants have considerably higher infectious titers than D614 variants. This indicates that spike D614G mutation makes the novel coronavirus more infectious and that the virus can be transmitted more easily and rapidly from person to person.
Moreover, scientists have shown that people infected with the G614 variant have higher viral RNA load in the upper respiratory tract than those infected with the D614 variant. However, D614G mutation is not associated with increased disease severity. Because D614G mutation is located in the interface between neighboring spike protein protomers, it may modulate protomer-protomer interaction by disrupting between-protomer hydrogen bond formation. Interestingly, one study conducted on pseudoviruses containing either D614 or G614 has claimed that G614 containing viruses are more susceptible to convalescent sera-mediated neutralization. This finding indicates that D614G mutation does not facilitate the virus escaping host immune responses.
Is spike D614G mutation associated with higher mortality?
Although there is no evidence showing that D614G mutation is associated with increased COVID-19 severity, a recent study using a phylogenetic tree of more than 4000 coronavirus genomes has claimed that viruses containing D614G mutation are more virulent, and thus, are associated with higher disease-related mortality. The study has speculated that higher viral pathogenicity may be due to mutation-mediated conformational changes in the spike protein, which facilitate the exposure of polybasic cleavage site to cellular proteases.
Could D614G mutation impact vaccine development?
The spike protein gets a lot of attention from the host immune system as it is located on the outer surface of the virus (external protein). Thus, spike D614G mutation is expected to play a major role in modulating the viral ability to escape vaccine-induced immune responses.However, there is evidence suggesting that the possibility of D614G mutation affecting the vaccine efficacy is very less. Because the mutation is not in the receptor-binding domain of the spike protein, it is less likely to affect the ability of the domain to induce host immune responses, which is believed to be a prerequisite for antibody-mediated neutralization of the virus. Moreover, a large portion of ongoing vaccines are developed against the receptor-binding domain, and thus, D614G mutation is not supposed to have any effect on vaccine efficacy. Another important observation is that convalescent sera obtained people infected with D614 containing viruses have been found to neutralize viruses containing G614, and vice versa. This indicates that D614G mutation does not alter antibody-mediate immune responses. Nick Note: Its settled business the NEW mutated coronavirus is far far more infections and far far deadlier. This is settled business.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that college football conferences were making a terrible mistake by preparing to cancel their season during the coronavirus pandemic.“I think football’s making a tragic mistake,” he said. The president commented in an interview with Fox Sports Radio host Clay Travis after reports signaled that the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences were prepared to cancel their seasons. No final decisions have been made. The president noted that a “tiny percentage” of people with coronavirus got seriously ill, stressing that this included primarily the elderly rather than healthy athletes. “These football players are very young, strong people. Physically they’re in extraordinary shape, so they’re not going to have a problem,” Trump said. “You’re not going to see people dying.” The president joked that some of the linemen in football might have a little extra body fat, and also joked about his own age and weight “Isn’t it wonderful that I am a perfect physical specimen?” he joked. “So great.” The president recalled personally attending the NCAA College Football Playoff national championship game in January 2020 between Louisiana State University (LSU) and Clemson University of South Carolina, and an LSU game against Alabama in November. “When I went to that game it was incredible. I went to a couple of them,” he said. “And I never really did the big-time college football. I went to an Ivy League school. It wasn’t really quite the same.” He recalled the “massive” stadiums for college football, noting he was impressed by crowds that were even larger than the NFL. It’s brilliant football. It’s great football, the atmosphere. There’s nothing like it,” he said.He said that college football would likely be affected by the loss of the huge crowds. “You can’t have empty seats,” Trump said. “I’m not sure college football can do it, but we’ll have to see.”
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia on Tuesday became the first country to clear a coronavirus vaccine and declare it ready for use, despite international skepticism. President Vladimir Putin said that one of his daughters has already been inoculated. Putin emphasized that the vaccine underwent the necessary tests and has proven efficient, offering a lasting immunity from the coronavirus. However, scientists at home and abroad have been sounding the alarm that the rush to start using the vaccine before Phase 3 trials — which normally last for months and involve thousands of people — could backfire. Speaking at a government meeting Tuesday, Putin said that the vaccine has undergone proper testing and is safe. “I know it has proven efficient and forms a stable immunity, and I would like to repeat that it has passed all the necessary tests,” he said. “We must be grateful to those who made that first step very important for our country and the entire world.” The Russian leader added that one of his two adult daughters has received two shots of the vaccine. “She has taken part in the experiment,” Putin said. Putin said that his daughter had a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit) on the day of the first vaccine injection, and then it dropped to just over 37 degrees (98.6 Fahrenheit) on the following day. After the second shot she again had a slight increase in temperature, but then it was all over. “She’s feeling well and has high number of antibodies,” Putin added. He didn’t specify which of his two daughters — Maria or Katerina — received the vaccine. The Health Ministry said in Tuesday’s statement that the vaccine is expected to provide immunity from the coronavirus for up to two years. Putin emphasized that vaccination will be voluntary, Russian authorities have said that medical workers, teachers and other risk groups will be the first to be inoculated. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said that the vaccination of doctors could start as early as this month. Professor Alexander Gintsburg, head of the Gamaleya Institute that developed the vaccine, said that vaccination will start while the Phase 3 trials continue. He said that initially there will be only enough doses to conduct vaccination in 10-15 of Russia’s 85 regions, according to the Interfax news agency. Russian officials have said that large-scale production of the vaccine will start in September, and mass vaccination may begin as early as October. Russia has registered 897,599 coronavirus cases, including 15,131 deaths. When the pandemic struck Russia, Putin ordered state officials to shorten the time of clinical trials for potential coronavirus vaccines. Becoming the first country in the world to develop a vaccine was a matter of national prestige for the Kremlin as it tries to assert the image of Russia as a global power. State television stations and other media have praised scientists working on it and presented the work as the envy of other nations. Gintsburg raised eyebrows in May when he said that he and other researchers tried the vaccine on themselves. Human studies started June 17 among 76 volunteers. Half were injected with a vaccine in liquid form and the other half with a vaccine that came as soluble powder. Some in the first half were recruited from the military, which raised concerns that servicemen may have been pressured to participate. Amid Russia’s rush to become the first to create a vaccine, the U.S., Britain and Canada last month accused Russia of using hackers to steal vaccine research from Western labs. As the trials were declared completed, questions arose about the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness. Some experts scoffed at Russian authorities’ assurances that the vaccine drug produced the desired immune response and caused no significant side effects, pointing out that such claims need to be backed by published scientific data. The World Health Organization said all vaccine candidates should go through full stages of testing before being rolled out. Experts have warned that vaccines that are not properly tested can cause harm in many ways — from a negative impact on health to creating a false sense of security or undermining trust in vaccinations. Nick Note: the entire world is betting on a vaccine. One that has never been found after 40 years of research. Scientists have been unsuccessfully fighting the coronavirus in various mutations. ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! And that reality will soon dawn on the markets. Then look out below!
Trump’s unilateral economic relief actions come under fire. Ohio’s governor urges use of rapid tests, but with caution after his false positive.At least 97,000 children in the United States tested positive for the coronavirus the last two weeks of July alone, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association. The report says that at least 338,000 children have tested positive since the pandemic began, meaning more than a quarter have tested positive in just those two weeks. The report comes as parents and education leaders grapple with the challenges of resuming schooling as the virus continues to surge in parts of the country. More than seven out of 10 infections were from states in the South and West, according to the report, which relied on data from 49 states along with Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam. The count could be higher because the report did not include complete data from Texas and information from parts of New York State outside of New York City. Missouri, Oklahoma, Alaska, Nevada, Idaho and Montana were among the states with the highest percent increase of child infections during that period, according to the report. New York City, New Jersey and other states in the Northeast, where the virus peaked in March and April, had the lowest percent increase of child infections, according to the report. In total, 338,982 children have been infected, according to the report. Not every locality where data was collected categorized children in the same age range. Most places cited in the report considered children to be people no older than 17 or 19. In Alabama, though, the age limit was 24; in Florida and Utah the age limit was 14. The report noted that children rarely get severely sick from Covid-19, but another report, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, highlighted how the threat from a new Covid-19-related condition, called Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children or MIS-C, has disproportionately affected people of color. The C.D.C. said that from early March through late July, it received reports of 570 young people — ranging from infants to age 20 — who met the definition of MIS-C. Most of those patients were previously healthy, the report said. About 40 percent were Hispanic or Latino; 33 percent were Black and 13 percent were white, the report said. Ten died and nearly two-thirds were admitted to intensive care units, it said. Symptoms include a fever, rash, pinkeye, stomach distress, confusion, bluish lips, muscle weakness, racing heart rate and cardiac shock. A reopened high school in Georgia that drew national attention over images of its crowded hallways has had at least nine coronavirus cases reported in the last week, and is switching to online-only instruction for at least the next two days while the school is disinfected and officials assess the situation. “At this time, we know there were six students and three staff members who were in school for at least some time last week who have since reported to us that they have tested positive,” Gabe Carmona, the principal of North Paulding High School in Dallas, Ga., said in a letter to parents and guardians of the school’s students on Saturday. The superintendent of the Paulding County School District, Brian Otott, sent them another letter Sunday advising them about the switch to online instruction for Monday and Tuesday, at the least. Both letters encouraged parents to check their children’s temperature twice daily and to monitor them for symptoms. Neither letter made any mention of social distancing or wearing masks, which the school has said are encouraged but not mandatory But Dr. Gary Voccio, the health director for Paulding County and nine other counties in Northwest Georgia, said that masks were crucial to containing the spread of the virus. “Of course you have to change classrooms, and it’s going to be very difficult to physically distance when that occurs,” Dr. Voccio said in a video posted on Facebook. “But the masks, again, are the important part of this problem. And we will have significant cases within the schools, I’m sure.” At least 66 new coronavirus deaths and 4,032 new cases were reported in Georgia on Saturday, according to a New York Times database.
His experience could raise concerns about how much states will rely on antigen tests to augment other forms of testing that are in short supply. Ohio is one of seven states that said this week that they were banding together to purchase a total of 3.5 million rapid coronavirus tests, including antigen tests, along with other vital supplies. Governor DeWine said on CNN Sunday that he had already been in touch with Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland to talk about the tests and the seven-state agreement.
“If anyone needed a wake-up call with antigens, how careful you have to be, we certainly saw that with my test,” Governor DeWine said. “And we’re going to be very careful in how we use it.”
He added that he would direct any funding from a new federal relief package to expanded testing and helping schools adapt.
“We have doubled our testing in the last four weeks,” he said. “We need to double it again and then double it again. And so that is not going to be cheap to do.”
PCR tests are in short supply nationwide, and turnaround times for results have stretched past two weeks in some parts of the country, rendering the information useless.
Compared with PCR tests, Quidel’s antigen test is more likely to return a false negative result, missing up to 20 percent of cases that PCR detects, though the figure may drop below 5 percent for patients with high virus levels. But Governor DeWine’s antigen test produced the opposite error: a false positive.
He noted on Sunday that antigen tests function especially well as screening tests, delivering a quick preliminary indication that can be confirmed by the more accurate but slower PCR tests.
Virus cases have surged in the United States in recent weeks, particularly in the Sun Belt states and in communities where officials moved quickly to reopen. According to a New York Times database, the United States leads the world in confirmed cases with more than five million — a milestone reached on Saturday — followed by Brazil and India. Experts have warned that the actual number of people infected is far greater than the confirmed case count. Brazil also reached a milestone of 100,000 deaths on Saturday.
Trump’s moves on economic aid draw fire on the Sunday news shows.
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President Trump signed executive measures on Saturday at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J.Credit…Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times
Administration officials struggled in television appearances on Sunday to explain President Trump’s attempts to circumvent Congress in the absence of an agreement on a coronavirus aid package, sowing further confusion over whether tens of millions of Americans will receive the promised relief.
The president announced executive steps on Saturday that he said were intended to address lapsed unemployment benefits, reinstate an eviction ban, provide relief for student borrowers and suspend collection of payroll taxes. They came after crucial benefits provided under earlier aid bills had lapsed, and after two weeks of talks between congressional Democrats and administration officials failed to yield an agreement on a broader relief package.
But Mr. Trump’s steps appeared unlikely to have a meaningful impact on the sputtering economy, raising questions about whether Mr. Trump had taken them mainly to gain more leverage in his face-off with Congress.
Democrats criticized the actions on Sunday as executive overreach, and warned that the nation’s social safety net could be jeopardized.
“The president’s meager, weak and unconstitutional actions further demand that we have an agreement,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said on “Fox News Sunday.”
She, along with Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, urged administration officials to resume talks and seek a compromise on a broad relief package.
“The president’s executive orders, described in one word, could be paltry; in three words, unworkable, weak and far too narrow,” Mr. Schumer said on the ABC program “This Week.”
Mr. Trump’s top economic advisers were on the defensive Sunday about whether the president had the authority to bypass Congress, which retains the constitutional power of the purse, and redirect billions of dollars in spending. But there was some acknowledgment that the measures were not as potent as congressional action would be. “The downside of executive orders is, you can’t address some of the small business incidents that are there,” said Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, in a prerecorded interview that was broadcast Sunday on Gray Television. “You can’t necessarily get direct payments, because it has to do with appropriations. That’s something that the president doesn’t have the ability to do. So, you miss on those two key areas. You miss on money for schools. You miss on any funding for state and local revenue needs that may be out there.”
(Bloomberg Opinion) — For the second time in three years, Saudi Arabia is slashing the volume of crude it’s sending to America in an attempt to force down stockpiles in the world’s most visible oil market and thereby hasten the rebalancing of supply and demand. Weekly U.S. oil inventory data — usually published on a Wednesday and covering the period up to the previous Friday — is routinely pored over by oil analysts and traders alike. Despite their shortcomings, the figures give the most up-to-date picture of changes in the oil balance and influence trading decisions and crude prices around the world.
Shifts in the flow of crude into and out of American ports can have a big impact on the level of U.S. inventories. Riyadh has clearly decided it’s time to do its bit to bring them down from heights reached in May and June, when the coronavirus pandemic and the kingdom’s own output hike combined to drive the fastest ever surge in U.S. commercial crude stockpiles.
In the five weeks between March 20 and April 24, the inventories increased at a rate of 2.1 million barrels a day and by the first week of June it was hitting new highs.
Steven Mnuchin says Democrats will ‘have a lot of explaining to do’ if they challenge Trump’s executive order after Schumer calls it ‘faulty and unworkable’ and Nancy slams it as ‘an illusion’
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday that Democrats will ‘have a lot of explaining to do’ if they sue over Donald Trump’s executive orders
Other White House officials have said they are not concerned with legal action, claiming they are confident the measures will hold up in court
‘I’m confident every single one of those orders, which cleared through the office of legal council, will stand up,’ Trump’s economic adviser Peter Navarro said
The comments come as Democrats, and some Republicans, question the constitutionality of Trump’s unilateral actions on Saturday
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the measures are too ‘weak’ and claimed they are ‘unworkable’ for Democrats
‘The event at the country club is just what Trump does — a big show but it doesn’t do anything,’ Schumer said of Trump’s event at his golf club
The White House is confident President Donald Trump‘s four new executive orders will stand up in court as lawmakers denounce the unilateral move as ‘unconstitutional’ and the action faces potential legal battles. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday morning that Democrats will have to explain a lot if they decide to legally challenge the executive orders aimed at providing relief to Americans in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. ‘[They] will have some explaining to do,’ Mncuhin told Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace of the opposition party.’I am pleased that President Trump has taken action to ensure that economic relief continues to go to America’s workers, families and businesses,’ Mnuchin wrote in a statement Sunday. Democrats, however, are questioning the constitutionality of the orders and have raised concerns over some measures they say are problematic. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told ABC News Sunday morning that the executive orders are ‘faulty and unworkable’ for where Democrats feel it should be. ‘The event at the country club is just what Trump does — a big show but it doesn’t do anything,’ he lamented to ABC News This Week host George Stephanopoul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the measures ‘faulty and unworkable’ and Democrats question the constitutionality of the executive actions. Peter Navarro, Trump’s top economic adviser, told NBC News Sunday that the White House is not concerned about being sued, claiming he is confident the orders will stand up in court. ‘One of the things I’ve learned here at the White House going through a lot of work on executive orders is what we have the statutory authority to do,’ Navarro said during an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press Sunday morning.
‘And I’m confident every single one of those orders, which cleared through the office of legal council, will stand up,’ he told host Chuck Todd.
Trump’s executive orders, which he signed Saturday afternoon at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club, include suspending payroll taxes for those making less than $96,000, reducing and extending expired unemployment benefits to a $400-per-week boost, placing a memorandum on evictions and deferring student loan payments.
The two biggest concerns from Democrats are the payroll tax cut, which they argue would harm social security, and the unemployment benefits.
Under the unemployment benefits order, Trump lowered the $600-per-week boost, which was passed in a previous stimulus package and expired last month, to $400-per-week. The action also now requires states to pay 25 per cent of those benefits to their jobless citizens.
Democrats argue states already strapped for cash in the midst of the economic crisis will not be able to pay those benefits to the millions left jobless as a result of the pandemic.
‘The payroll tax cut, we clearly have the authority to do it, that can be done easily through the Treasury Department,’ Navarro argued.
+5
Larry Kudlow conceded that the administration may ‘go to court’ over the executive orders, but said: We’re going to go ahead with our actions anyways’
Mnuchin assured during his Fox News Sunday interview that before the order was drafted, states told him they could get the extra unemployment benefits ‘up and running.’
Trump signaled during the executive order signing on Saturday that he could likely face legal troubles over the measures, and Democrats confirmed that suspicion by questioning the constitutionality of the unilateral motions.
Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, said he ‘appreciates’ that lawmakers, including some Republicans believe there are some issues with the president taking action.
‘Maybe we’re going to go to court on them,’ he conceded to ABC’s Stephenopoulos during an interview Sunday morning. ‘We’re going to go ahead with our actions anyways.’ ‘Our council’s office, the Treasury Department believes it has the authority to temporarily suspend tax collections,’ Kudlow said. ‘So we’re banking on that.’ Nick Note: Your dictator elect signed proclamations that are both unconstitutional and unworkable. The states tax collection has gone to zilch. Sales tax revenue has fallen off a cliff. People are not paying property taxes. And the great welfare state burdens are to much to endure. Now Trump wants them to pay 25% of the you do not have to work happy checks.
Children might be more vulnerable to Covid-19 than once believed, with new research suggesting that they are able to contract and spread the virus, especially if they don’t take precautions such as wearing a mask.
Several studies and reports published in recent weeks found coronavirus infections among children of all ages at places ranging from schools to camps to homes. Other research suggested that kids, especially older ones, can be a driving force behind transmission.
And some researchers found children carry high levels of Covid-19’s genetic material in their upper respiratory tract, which doesn’t mean they are transmitting the virus but that they potentially could. Most of the studies have limitations, and more research is needed, experts say. Yet the new studies, together with reports of outbreaks among children at some schools overseas and a summer camp in Georgia, have persuaded many researchers that children aren’t as immune to Covid-19 as initially thought.
“Are they susceptible to catching the virus? Absolutely. Are they able to transmit the virus? Absolutely,” said Joelle Simpson, interim chief of emergency medicine at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.
In the U.S., 45 children under the age of 15 years have died from Covid-19, compared with nearly 25,000 deaths of people between the ages of 45 to 64, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its data also show far lower rates of hospitalization among children. Meanwhile, other studies, including one published in June in the journal Pediatrics, found infected children under 18 years old in China tend to exhibit only mild or moderate symptoms, or no symptoms at all. Yet the latest research indicates children may be carriers just as much as adults.
Even when experiencing only a mild or moderate case, children under the age of five might have anywhere between 10 to 100 times as much of Covid-19’s genetic material, viral RNA, in their upper respiratory tracts as older children and adults, according to a study published last month in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. The study didn’t show children were able to transmit the virus. Yet researchers say the findings suggest children are likely capable of spreading the coronavirus. The change in thinking comes as schools prepare to begin a new year, including some still deciding whether it would be safe for children to return to classrooms. President Trump and some members of his administration have urged schools to reopen.
ROME (AP) — With confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. hitting 5 million Sunday, by far the highest of any country, the failure of the most powerful nation in the world to contain the scourge has been met with astonishment and alarm in Europe. Perhaps nowhere outside the U.S. is America’s bungled virus response viewed with more consternation than in Italy, which was ground zero of Europe’s epidemic. Italians were unprepared when the outbreak exploded in February, and the country still has one of the world’s highest official death tolls at 35,000. But after a strict nationwide, 10-week lockdown, vigilant tracing of new clusters and general acceptance of mask mandates and social distancing, Italy has become a model of virus containment. “Don’t they care about their health?” a mask-clad Patrizia Antonini asked about people in the United States as she walked with friends along the banks of Lake Bracciano, north of Rome. “They need to take our precautions. … They need a real lockdown.”
Much of the incredulity in Europe stems from the fact that America had the benefit of time, European experience and medical know-how to treat the virus that the continent itself didn’t have when the first COVID-19 patients started filling intensive care units.
Yet, more than four months into a sustained outbreak, the U.S. reached the 5 million mark, according to the running count kept by Johns Hopkins University. Health officials believe the actual number is perhaps 10 times higher, or closer to 50 million, given testing limitations and the fact that as many as 40% of all those who are infected have no symptoms. With America’s world’s-highest death toll of more than 160,000, its politicized resistance to masks and its rising caseload, European nations have barred American tourists and visitors from other countries with growing cases from freely traveling to the bloc. The virus is still raging in some Balkan countries, and thousands of maskless protesters demanded an end to virus restrictions in Berlin earlier this month. Hard-hit Spain, France and Germany have seen infection rebounds with new cases topping 1,000 a day, and Italy’s cases inched up over 500 on Friday. Britain is still seeing an estimated 3,700 new infections daily, and some scientists say the country’s beloved pubs might have to close again if schools are to reopen in September without causing a new wave. In the U.S., new cases are running at about 54,000 a day — an immensely high number even when taking into account the country’s larger population. And while that’s down from a peak of well over 70,000 last month, cases are rising in nearly 20 states, and deaths are climbing in most. “Had the medical professionals been allowed to operate in the States, you would have belatedly gotten to a point of getting to grips with this back in March,” said Scott Lucas, professor of international studies at the University of Birmingham, England. “But of course, the medical and public health professionals were not allowed to proceed unchecked,” he said, referring to Trump’s frequent undercutting of his own experts.
When the virus first appeared in the United States, Trump and his supporters quickly dismissed it as either a “hoax” or a virus that would quickly disappear once warmer weather arrived. At one point, Trump suggested that ultraviolet light or injecting disinfectants would eradicate the virus.
Trump’s frequent complaints about Dr. Anthony Fauci have regularly made headlines in Europe, where the U.S. infectious-disease expert is a respected figure. Italy’s leading COVID-19 hospital offered Fauci a job if Trump fired him.
Trump has defended the U.S. response, blaming China, where the virus was first detected, for America’s problems and saying the U.S. numbers are so high because there is so much testing. Trump supporters and Americans who have refused to wear masks against all medical advice back that line. “There’s no national strategy, no national leadership, and there’s no urging for the public to act in unison and carry out the measures together,” he said. “That’s what it takes, and we have completely abandoned that as a nation.” Nick Note: Donald Trump is a mass murder of babby boomers… At least the stupid ones
The American Petroleum Institute reported Tuesday that U.S. crude supplies dropped by 4.4 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 7. API also reported gasoline stockpiles declined by 1.3 million barrels, while distillate inventories were down by 2.9 million barrels. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Okla., storage hub, meanwhile, edged up by 1.1 million barrels for the week.
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