Author: BlackMask Financial

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New COVID-19 cases hit record highs in more than a DOZEN states

 Dr Birx urges regions with rising infections to close bars, cut back on indoor dining and to mandate face masks

  • COVID-19 infections are now spiking, based on a seven-day average, in more than a dozen states, including Oklahoma, Missouri and Mississippi
  • The number of cases in the current hard hit states of Texas, California, Arizona and Florida are now showing signs of plateauing, health officials say 
  • Dr Deborah Birx, head of the White House taskforce, said the new surge is a sign that the virus is now spreading North 
  • The states with rising cases should be closing bars, cutting back on indoor restaurant capacity and limiting social gatherings to 10 people, Dr Birx warned
  • She also said all Americans should be wearing masks when out in public or around other people 
  • Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says the leveling off of cases in the hotspot states is because people are social distancing and wearing masks
  • He warned, however, that the United States wasn’t ‘out of the woods yet’ with the pandemic 
  • Florida on Sunday became the second state after California to overtake New York, the original epicenter of the US outbreak 
  • There has now been more than 4.2 million infections recorded across the United States and nearly 147,000 Americans have died from COVID-19

 

New COVID-19 cases have hitting record highs in more than a dozen states while Texas, Florida, Arizona and California show signs of a plateau – as Dr Deborah Birx urged regions with rising infections to close bars, cut back on indoor dining and to mandate face masks.

There has now been more than 4.2 million infections recorded across the United States and nearly 147,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. 

The number of cases in the current hard hit states of Texas, California, Arizona and Florida are now showing signs of plateauing after a month of record surges, according to Dr Birx. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says the leveling off of cases in the hotspot states is because people are social distancing and wearing masks but warned the US wasn’t ‘out of the woods yet’. As cases appear to plateau in those hard hit states, the number of infections are now spiking, based on a seven-day average, in more than a dozen states, including Oklahoma, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii and Wyoming. Nevada, Texas and South Carolina have seen record highs in the number of deaths based on a seven-day average.  Dr Birx, who is the head of the White House COVID-19 taskforce, said the surge in cases that has plagued Sunbelt states since Memorial Day is now being seen elsewhere, which is a sign that the virus is now spreading North.

Missouri cases

+20

Missouri deaths

MISSOURI: There are currently 41,927 cases in Missouri and 1,197 deaths. Cases have been steadily increasing across the state since mid-June but deaths have not yet spiked

Mississippi cases

Mississippi deaths

MISSISSIPPI: Cases have been rising steadily in Mississippi with the state now having 52,304 cases. There have been 1,495 deaths and the fatality rate is now showing signs of an uptick

Oklahoma cases

Oklahoma deaths

OKLAHOMA: Oklahoma currently has 31,285 cases and 496 deaths. Both cases and deaths have been surging this month.

Continue reading “New COVID-19 cases hit record highs in more than a DOZEN states”

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Covid Spread With Air Conditioning

The long-staid world of HVAC is suddenly in the spotlight. With research showing the coronavirus may spread through shared air, property managers are rushing to upgrade heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems before reopening buildings. That’s leading to costly upgrades for equipment that armies of professionals used to take for granted. Building specialists are poring over how well heavy-duty filters block microbes and considering whether to install systems that use ultraviolet light or electrically charged particles in the ductwork to kill the virus. Companies including Honeywell International Inc., Carrier Global Corp. and Trane Technologies Plc are benefiting from the surge in demand, offering everything from air-monitoring sensors to portable filter machines to help make up for deficiencies in ventilation. “Every building is going to have some kind of solution. Is it going to be 100%? No,” said Hani Salama, head of the New York chapter of the Building Owners and Managers Association. “But it’s going to be better than what they have now, and will help mitigate some of these airborne transmission issues that everybody is afraid of.” Much of the concern for buildings has been centered on whether the virus can spread through surfaces, prompting remedies such as new cleaning procedures, gallons of hand sanitizer and touchless doors and bathroom fixtures. However, more than 200 researchers have urged the World Health Organization to recognize the disease can spread through air currents.

A study this spring led by researchers at the University of Oregon found the presence of the virus in a quarter of HVAC systems in hospitals that treated Covid-19 patients. The findings suggest the potential for transmission from shared air from locations separate from the infected person, the authors said.

For building owners, the trade-offs abound. It’s best to let in more fresh air, but that puts a strain on cooling or heating. Dense filters that trap more microbes are coveted, yet can choke off airflow and worsen ventilation if a building’s fans aren’t powerful enough. And most solutions require more energy consumption. Building-safety products are proving to be a bright spot for sales at companies like Honeywell, which has technology for “frictionless entry,” automatic temperature-taking and sensors that monitor air quality. Air conditioning upgrades are a top priority for landlords, said Salama of the New York association, even as it’s unclear when office workers will return. His company, Capital Properties, is swapping out 900 air conditioning filters at its two Manhattan office buildings for double the price it would normally pay. Many of the methods to reduce pathogens have been around for years, such as UV light and bipolar ionization, which releases electrically charged atoms that attach to and neutralize viruses and bacteria. Those technologies were geared more to hospitals than commercial buildings, which put more of an emphasis on saving energy than killing germs. That’s changing now. A study showing the system kills as much as 99% of pathogens won Reagan over, and Flix Brewhouse opened in San Antonio to the public for two weeks to try the system. He said the venue had about 700 visitors, including 50 employees, and he hasn’t heard of any Covid cases that arose. All of Flix’s theaters are closed for now, mainly because of a lack of new films from Hollywood, he said. Fredric Lubit, a dentist with two offices in New Jersey, purchased four Carrier OptiClean air scrubbers at $4,500 each. The machine, which looks similar to a tall filing cabinet, sucks air though a high-efficiency particulate air, or HEPA, filter. He also purchased a $10,000 machine for each office that saturates a room with UV light for two minutes to destroy microbes.Carrier began designing the OptiClean in March by hot-rodding the inside portion of a residential HVAC system with a bigger fan and motor, along with other parts. The product was initially aimed at hospitals, but demand is now coming from schools and small offices, said Chris Nelson, president of Carrier’s HVAC unit, who declined to provide sales numbers. HEPA filters can block particles as small as 0.1 micron, tiny enough for the coronavirus particles that can float on air, the rating on the heavy-duty filters is only for particles the size of 0.3 microns, according to a July 9 paper by consulting firm McKinsey & Co. Nick Note: you should avoid recirculating the air. you should have charcoal and HEPTA filters AND a electrostatic filter on ASS your HVAC systems.

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Fed Outlook Turns Gloomier as Coronavirus Spreads

Central bank leaders warn of hits to confidence, higher joblessness and more business bankruptcies

Federal Reserve officials are facing growing doubts about the prospect for a sustained economic rebound due to the nation’s uneven public-health response to the coronavirus. Officials have warned this month in speeches and interviews that the economy faces a deeper downturn and more difficult recovery if the country doesn’t take more effective action to slow the spread of infection.

FED’S POWELL SAYS US ECONOMY MAY NEED MORE POLICY HELP TO AVOID ‘PROLONGED’ RECESSION

Since the Fed’s mid-June policy meeting, virus infection rates have accelerated in many states that were among the first to encourage businesses to reopen. Business leaders and economists have warned that hard-hit industries such as travel, entertainment and hospitality will face a more difficult recovery if consumers don’t feel confident spending money indoors and gathering in large groups. The Fed isn’t likely to roll out new stimulus measures this week but is debating how to provide more support to the economy once the economic outlook becomes clearer. They could do this by adjusting their purchases of Treasury and mortgage securities and by providing more detail about what conditions would lead them to consider withdrawing stimulus.  After the pandemic triggered widespread shutdowns in March, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said he had expected infections to recede by the summer much as it has in Europe. “Unfortunately, that is not the case,” he said in a July 8 interview. “We have not been nearly as successful.” The longer that infection rates flare up, the harder it will be for a range of industries that employ millions of Americans to recover. That, in turn, could lead to higher spells of extended joblessness, business failure and stress on the banking system.

The economy will face “severe economic consequences” if the public health response doesn’t improve, Mr. Rosengren said. The Fed’s policy response is “not going to be able to offset all the losses if we continue to make serious public health mistakes.”

He said he is particularly troubled about what could happen in the fall, as college students return to campus from around the country, younger students go back to school, and cold weather makes it harder for restaurants to operate outdoor dining. Regional data from the online reservations site OpenTable shows the Northeast is the only part of the U.S. that saw an increase in restaurant dining through mid-July on a weekly basis, suggesting that consumers are more willing to dine at restaurants in areas where the virus is under control. The economy added 7.5 million jobs in May and June but still has 14.7 million fewer jobs than before the pandemic. Coronavirus infections have accelerated in several large states since mid-June, when the Labor Department conducted its most recent survey of payroll growth. Real-time data tracked by Fed economists suggested that strong gains in hiring in May and June may not be sustained, said Fed Gov. Lael Brainard in a speech July 14. “Business leaders are getting worried. Consumers are getting worried,” Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said July 7 in a discussion hosted by the Tennessee Business Roundtable. “There is a real sense that this might go on longer than we had hoped and we had expected and we had planned for.”

One risk for the Fed is that markets and the public expect it will fix problems its tools aren’t suited for, said former Fed Gov. Randall Kroszner.

“There is nothing the Fed can do to bring back the airline industry, to replace broken supply chains, to make people feel comfortable going out to shopping malls,” said Mr. Kroszner, who now teaches at the University of Chicago. “People have the view the Fed is so powerful that it can do anything, and it can’t.”

Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida last month warned the improvements in financial markets may not last due to the path of the virus. At a minimum, the Fed’s lending programs had bought some time for businesses to hang on until an economic recovery spreads, he said. Officials have expressed alarm that businesses receiving relief from the $510 billion Paycheck Protection Program won’t be able to withstand further declines in demand due to virus fears. Mr. Kaplan said he has spoken to a range of companies that used those funds to bring back their employees and reopen. Their initial optimism has faded amid renewed slowdowns in business as virus infection rates flare up, and some businesses are seeing a substantial slowdown in foot traffic. “The jury is now very much out … because they’re not well equipped for another slowdown,” Mr. Kaplan said.

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Coronavirus cases could reach 175,000 a day

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned the death toll could hit 175,000 by August 15 after the U.S. crossed 4 million cases, with hospitalizations on the rise in 41 states.

The spread of the coronavirus could be elevated this fall with as many as 150,000 daily cases in the U.S., according to Morgan Stanley’s biotechnology analyst, Matthew Harrison. “We update our scenarios to account for the higher sustained infection rate,” Harrison said in a note Thursday. “Our bull [most optimistic] case reflects similar virus control to Europe while our base [most likely] case assumes a near-term plateau followed by increased spread in the fall. [About] 150,000 daily new cases are possible without better control of the virus.”

Harrison previously projected a “second wave” in the autumn with daily new cases totaling between 40,000 and 50,000 nationwide. However, the recent emergence of hot spots — Arizona, Texas, Florida and California — has reflected a high rate of infection, which led the analyst to adjust to a more pessimistic view on the pandemic.

“Our assumption of a growing reproduction number, and consequently increasing daily cases, throughout the rest of the year is based on the fact that traditionally the spread of viruses is elevated in the fall compared to the summer primarily due to more people in enclosed spaces,” Harrison said.

Chart of daily new coronavirus cases in the U.S. through July 22, 2020

A recent resurgence in new cases has forced a number of states to roll back their reopening plans, which weighed on the stock market that rallied massively in the second quarter on hopes for a fast economic recovery.  Texas and Florida hit grim records for daily coronavirus deaths based on a seven-day moving average.The virus has infected an average of 66,805 people per day in the U.S. over the past seven days, up more than 7% compared with a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.  On Wednesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom reported a record spike in daily infections, surpassing New York as the U.S. state with the most confirmed infections since the pandemic began. Nick Note: Did I tell you so? If i forgot read the reports. The START of the second more deadly wave is upon us. The numbers will exceed ALL estimates. Why… Pretty simple the virus has mutated and has gone to the most contagious deadly system that spreads as a aerosol. The cold hard ugly truth is the much ballyhooed paper masks are WORSE then useless. I want to be clear here. Its now beyond in America what testing and contact tracing can contain. The mistakes are compounding themselves exponentially. The economic crises spawned by the pandemic is catching the aTtention of world leaders. Would they allow 100 million Americans to die over the next 2 years to satisfy big business LUST FOR PROFIT. Yes they would and the decision has been made. The masses are being told the Kill the cats solution the great white hope the vaccine is coming. The cold hard truth is their will be no EFFECTIVE VACCINE. and WHEN THE VACCINES FROM HELL IS RELEASED JUST LIKE KILLING THE CATS in the dark ages WILL MAKE THE PLAGUE  far Far  FAR WORSE. I believe, hope and pray i can guide us through this. The only chance we have is to face the cold hard ugly realities. The sun shines most everyday. But sunny days and a positive mental attitude will not help you beat  this monster.

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Coronavirus Is Back With a Vengeance in Places Where It Had All but Vanished

Hong Kong, Japan and Australia are seeing new waves of infections after relaxing Covid-19 restrictions

Australia reported only a handful of new coronavirus cases in early June, while Hong Kong went three weeks without a single locally transmitted infection that month. Japan had already lifted a state of emergency in May after the number of new cases dropped to a few dozen nationwide. All three reported new high-water marks in daily infection numbers in the past week, showing how difficult it can be to keep the virus at bay, even in places lauded for taking early and decisive action. The number of infections in all three places are still small in comparison to the world’s hardest hit countries, but the fresh waves demonstrate the tricky balancing act authorities face as they attempt to reopen their economies.

One misstep can quickly undo the gains from weeks of closures, and public-health experts say some complacency and fatigue with social-distancing restrictions is inevitable in a long pandemic.

In Australia, the southeastern state of Victoria recorded 484 new cases on Jul. 22, eclipsing a nationwide high set in March. By Monday, the state’s daily infections had climbed to 532—with most in the capital, Melbourne.Victoria has accumulated some 7,000 new cases since June 9. The state’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton, said this month it is conceivable that most, if not all, cases there could have stemmed from staff members failing to adhere to infection-control procedures at hotels housing travelers returning from overseas. Infection clusters have since spawned in schools, public-housing towers and aged-care homes.

“We were so close to having eliminated it from the whole of Australia,” said Adrian Esterman, professor of biostatistics at the University of South Australia. “We were a fingernail from doing it, and this happens.” He said that if new daily cases remained at current levels, it would soon become unsustainable for stretched contact-tracing teams to track infections.

Japan has seen a similar resurgence. The seven-day average for daily new cases in Tokyo more than quadrupled this month to 258 as of Sunday. Across Japan, there were a record 981 cases recorded Thursday. The government has again moved to secure hotel rooms to quarantine the infected after releasing most of the rooms it had previously requisitioned.Officials said many of the new cases were young people linked to nighttime entertainment districts and that more parties and gatherings in general have contributed to the spread. Asked about the second wave, a spokesman for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe referred to a statement Wednesday in which he defended the government’s balancing of economic reopening and virus prevention. Mr. Abe said, “The situation is significantly different from what we saw under the state of emergency in April,” because most of the new cases involve young people and hospitals aren’t overwhelmed. He said the government would “maintain sufficient vigilance against the spread of infections” while gradually reopening the economy. Facing the prospect of a protracted recession after a year of antigovernment protests followed by the pandemic, Hong Kong’s government gave every adult permanent resident $1,290 to encourage people to spend and revive the recession-hit economy. On June 16, city authorities lifted restrictions on indoor gatherings, restaurants and gyms. New local infections ceased—until July 5. Since then, Hong Kong has racked up more than 1,300 new cases, 87% of them locally transmitted. Within days of the cash handouts reaching residents, renewed social distancing saw fresh closures or restrictions on gyms, bars and restaurants.

Local epidemiology experts say they believe missteps by the government, such as exemptions for some foreign arrivals—including pilots, airline and cargo-ship crew—from testing or the 14-day mandatory quarantine, were factors in the latest wave of coronavirus.

Hong Kong has tightened regulations following the latest outbreak—starting July 29, travelers from the U.S. will be added to a list of high-risk countries, requiring them to provide a negative test before flying and proof they have booked a hotel for their quarantine before boarding their flights. Most of Australia has enjoyed prolonged spells without locally-transmitted infections. The relative speed at which the initial outbreak was contained and the low mortality rate, public health experts say, may have contributed to a sense of complacency by the time the second wave hit, despite constant government warnings. “Pretending that it is [over] because we all want it to be over is not the answer,” he said. “It is indeed part of the problem.”  Nick Note: its not over before 3 billion people are infected and 100 million stupid and disadvantaged people die. And to add to your fun it will return every year bigger and badder like the flue. But a far Far FAR worse disease…. Obviously. I do not make up the way understated numbers on infections, hospitalizations and death death tolls. Read it i and weep. Obviously the politicians the world over facing election or worse like riots on the streets and insurrections have a vested interest in blowing blue sky up your ass and throwing stale bread to the soon to be starving masses.

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Gold hits new all-time high

All the suckers back  in the pool

Gold (GC=F) was up 1.3% to $1,928.90 (£1,504.72) per ounce in early trade in London. Overnight, the precious metal had touched $1,931.90 per ounce. “Today it is all about gold prices and bulls are celebrating the fact that the gold price has hit an all time high,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Avatrade. Gold and silver prices have been rallying in recent weeks as the US dollar has weakened. The dollar has fallen over 4% against both the pound (USDGBP=X) and the euro (USDEUR=X) over the last month. The decline of the dollar has coincided with huge spikes in COVID-19 cases in many US states, such as Florida and Texas. The cheap dollar appears to have spurred investors to move their money into precious metals in a bit to preserve the value of their capital. Silver (SI=F) was also rallying strongly on Monday, up 6.3% to $22.37 per ounce. “The next big target [for gold] is the 2,000 level and this can happen this week as we have the Federal Reserve’s meeting,” Aslam said. The Federal Reserve delivers its latest policy statement on Wednesday (29 July), which could send the dollar lower if the central bank signals weak expected growth for the US economy. Spain has seen new COVID-19 cases once again rise to over 1,000 a day over the last week. “I don’t think this is of immediate major economic consequence (relative to what we already have) but if this is happening at the height of summer it begs the question of where we’ll be in say November,” Deutsche Bank senior strategist Jim Reid and team wrote in a note to clients on Monday morning. Nick Note: For the record we have a great Great GREAT short coming up. The lemmings are flying into the ocean again… They always do, They are assuming massive stimulus programs  are inflationary. Its not their not and never are in a depression. Here is a news flash we are in a depression. And it will be big and bad and badder and it will be the baddest plunge since the invention of stock and capital markets. DEFLATION as in double digit interest rates. As you know i have been sitting on the sidelines dueling with a great big hardon. I cannot WAIT to begin shorting operations. People are scared. They are starting to scratch thier asses and figure out their is a global plague and it is not going away. They are desperate for money. The only problem is they have not begun to comprehend how bad this plague will become and how much MORE money they are about to lose as EVERYTHING crashes in value. CASH IS KING. and we will see double digit interest rates… Oh yes i almost forgot their will be NO VIABLE vaccine as drug companies promise everything and deliver a 30 day wonder vaccine and cash in big time. Its impossible to vaccinate against any corona virus……… Its the constant mutations stupid!

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UK imposes quarantine for Britons returning from Spain

‘Everyone is panicking’: UK quarantine decision shocks Britons in Spain

Requirement to self-isolate on return to Britain will further damage tourism industry.

 

 

News that the British government had imposed a two-week quarantine on those returning from Spain quickly soured the Saturday night mood in the Brew Rock beach bar in Altea, Alicante – and across the rest of the country. The need for returning Britons to self-quarantine will further hobble a tourist sector that had already been preparing for a difficult summer in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. Spain went into one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns nine days before the UK, and the wearing of face masks in public places has been compulsory since 21 May. “Now to be hit with this is just unbelievable,” said Griffin. “Honestly, it’s just unbelievable. A lot of businesses have slowly but surely started to open their doors and take their staff off [temporary furloughs] and now to be faced with this is just another knock-back.” The timing of the British government’s announcement was also questioned by people at Madrid’s Barajas airport.

America faces an epic choice …

… in the coming months, and the results will define the country for a generation. These are perilous times. Over the last three years, much of what the Guardian holds dear has been threatened – democracy, civility, truth. The country is at a crossroads. Science is in a battle with conjecture and instinct to determine policy in the middle of a pandemic. At the same time, the US is reckoning with centuries of racial injustice – as the White House stokes division along racial lines. At a time like this, an independent news organisation that fights for truth and holds power to account is not just optional. It is essential.

The Guardian has been significantly impacted by the pandemic. Like many other news organisations, we are facing an unprecedented collapse in advertising revenues. We rely to an ever greater extent on our readers, both for the moral force to continue doing journalism at a time like this and for the financial strength to facilitate that reporting.

We believe every one of us deserves equal access to fact-based news and analysis. We’ve decided to keep Guardian journalism free for all readers, regardless of where they live or what they can afford to pay. This is made possible thanks to the support we receive from readers across America in all 50 states. Nick Note: I want to be clear here SHUT HER DOWN! SHUT HER DOWN! Do it NOW to save millions of lives.

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Coronavirus ravaged Florida, as Ron DeSantis sidelined scientists and followed Trump

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – As Florida became a global epicenter of the coronavirus, Gov. Ron DeSantis held one meeting this month with his top public health official, Scott Rivkees, according to the governor’s schedule. His health department has sidelined scientists, halting briefings last month with disease specialists and telling the experts there was not sufficient personnel from the state to continue participating. “I never received information about what happened with my ideas or results,” said Thomas Hladish, a University of Florida research scientist whose regular calls with the health department ended June 29. “But I did hear the governor say the models were wrong about everything.” DeSantis, a Republican, this month traveled to Miami to hold a roundtable with South Florida mayors, whose region had emerged as a novel coronavirus hot spot. But the Republican mayor of Hialeah was shut out, weeks after saying the governor “hasn’t done much” for a city disproportionately affected by the virus. As the virus spread out of control in Florida, decision-making became increasingly shaped by politics and divorced from scientific evidence according to interviews with 64 current and former state and administration officials, health administrators, epidemiologists, political operatives and hospital executives. The crisis in Florida, these observers say, has revealed the shortcomings of a response built on shifting metrics, influenced by a small group of advisers and tethered at every stage to the Trump administration, which has no unified plan for addressing the national health emergency but has pushed for states to reopen. DeSantis relies primarily on the advice of his wife, Casey, a former television reporter and host, and his chief of staff, Shane Strum, a former hospital executive, according to multiple Republican political operatives, including a former member of his administration.

“It’s a universe of three – Shane and Casey,” said one Republican consultant close to DeSantis’s team who spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer a candid assessment.

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US tops 1,000 coronavirus deaths 4 days in a row as experts urge the country to shut down

(CNN)Coronavirus deaths in the US topped 1,000 four days in a row last week amid ongoing debates on the return of school and mask mandates. The country recorded 900 new virus-related deaths Saturday, down from the 1,130 reported Friday. Since the beginning of the pandemic, at least 146,460 Americans have died from the virus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.  And models project that there will be up to 175,000 deaths linked to the virus by August 15, according to an ensemble forecast published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projects there will be around 165,000 US deaths by that time. The grim patterns come as several states have reported record-breaking numbers of new cases and deaths in the past weeks. Some local leaders, including Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, have mentioned the possibility of a second stay-at-home order as officials warn of strained testing labs and overwhelmed hospitals. And on Thursday, more than 150 prominent medical experts, scientists, teachers, nurses and other experts signed a letter urging leaders to shut the country down and start over to contain the rampant spread of the virus. “Right now, we are on a path to lose more than 200,000 American lives by November 1st. Yet, in many states people can drink in bars, get a haircut, eat inside a restaurant, get a tattoo, get a massage, and do myriad other normal, pleasant, but non-essential activities,” the letter read, which was sent to the Trump administration, members of Congress and state governors. As the country’s caseload and death toll climbs, at least four states reported record-breaking numbers since Friday.

California, which is leading the nation with the most recorded coronavirus cases, reported 159 deaths linked to the virus Friday — the highest number recorded in a single day since the start of the pandemic. That number comes just a day after the state’s previous daily record of 157 deaths. More than half of all virus-related deaths in the state come from Los Angeles County, where more than 4,260 deaths have been reported. The state has had more than 446,450 reported infections, according to Johns Hopkins.
Georgia also broke a new single-day record Friday, reporting at least 4,813 new coronavirus cases. Health officials reported 3,787 new cases Saturday. More than 165,180 people have tested positive in the state, according to Johns Hopkins.
Oregon reported nine new coronavirus-related deaths Friday, breaking its record for most reported fatalities in a single day since the pandemic began. Those deaths were recorded in people aged 61 years or older. Health officials in the state reported 396 new cases, bringing the state’s total to more than 16,100.
For the second day in a row, Hawaii reported a record number of new cases, identifying 60 new positive tests Friday, according to health officials. On Thursday, Hawaii reported 55 new cases. Hawaii has had at least 1,620 reported infections, according to Johns Hopkins.
“Some of the cases we’re reporting today are associated with existing clusters, known cases and household spread, but others are new, unassociated cases that indicate increasing community spread,” Health Director Bruce Anderson said in a statement.

Florida’s youngest victim was a 9-year-old girl

In Florida, a state that has beat its own record of new cases several times in recent weeks, coronavirus hospitalizations have jumped by nearly 80% since July 4, according to data released to CNN by the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). And across the state, at least 50 hospitals have no ICU beds available, a number similar to last weekend’s. Last week, a 9-year-old girl with no pre-existing conditions became the state’s youngest coronavirus victim. Her family says Kimora “Kimmie” Lynum was taken to a local hospital to treat a “very high” fever.
The girl’s cousin and family spokesman Dejeon Cain said the hospital instructed the family to return home. After doing so, the young girl complained of not feeling well and collapsed. She didn’t have a detectable heartbeat, Cain added.
Her family says they don’t know where the child contracted the virus, as she had appeared healthy and had spent the summer at home.

Texas hospital could send patients home to die

In Texas, which broke a record for virus-related deaths last week, doctors inside one hospital along the US-Mexico border may decide to send patients home to “die by their loved ones” due to limited resources, officials said.  Officials in Starr County announced they’re creating committees to review patients’ cases at the Starr County Memorial Hospital — where at least 50% of patients admitted to the hospital’s emergency room have tested positive for coronavirus. “Unfortunately, Starr County Memorial Hospital has limited resources and our doctors are going to have to decide who receives treatment, and who is sent home to die by their loved ones,” Starr County Judge Eloy Vera wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday. “This is what we did not want our community to experience.” Earlier this month, the governor ordered a statewide mask mandate and urged residents to heed the precautions in order for businesses and the economy to remain open.
As the state grapples with controlling the spread of the virus, Gov. Greg Abbott also had to issue a disaster declaration for 32 counties after Hurricane Hanna made landfall Saturday evening.

CDC in favor of reopening schools

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Why the World Worries About the Virus 2.0 Nuclear Option

https://youtu.be/jL7KXsha2fU

Shuttering businesses, grounding airlines and ordering people to stay home was hard enough the first time. The thought of having to do it all over again is something world leaders don’t want to even contemplate. From Italy to New Zealand, irrespective of how well the virus was contained, governments acknowledge that fresh waves of the deadly coronavirus are likely and that the policy tools to mitigate the damage are limited. The hope is that localizing quarantines to towns, cities and regions will be enough to snuff out bouts of infections as they come. U.K.’s Boris Johnson was reluctant to order a lockdown and then ended up in intensive care fighting for his life after contracting Covid-19. Yet he finds the idea of isolating the nation again so off-putting that he compared it to a nuclear deterrent: “I certainly don’t want to use it.” French Prime Minister Jean Castex, was equally blunt: “We won’t survive, economically and socially.”

With the world facing its worst recession since the Great Depression and U.S. President Donald Trump fighting for re-election in November, voters are on edge. Politicians of all stripes are looking for ways to ease the pain—not add to it—as fear morphs into anger and discontent. 

“Populations can be summoned to heroic acts of collective self-sacrifice for a while, but not forever,” political scientist Francis Fukuyama, author of “The End of History and the Last Man,” wrote in Foreign Affairs magazine. “A lingering epidemic combined with deep job losses, a prolonged recession, and an unprecedented debt burden will inevitably create tensions that turn into a political backlash—but against whom is as yet unclear.” The political calculus is to try and it ride it out. Yet while efforts to get people back to stores, restaurants, bars and hairdressers demonstrate the urgency among governments of reviving economies, they also show the risks.

Europe’s hardest-hit country, Britain, reopened pubs and is now finding spikes in virus cases. Johnson, who aims to return to “significant normality” by Christmas, on Friday said his government is preparing the health service for a second wave of infections over the winter. A day later, the Department for Transport removed Spain from the government’s list of safe countries to travel to following a jump in infections there. Populations have already shown they are restless. Spain had a similar trajectory to Italy and in Madrid the resentment spilled into the streets. In Serbia, a jump in cases prompted President Aleksandar Vucic, just re-elected in a landslide, to try and impose another curfew only for him to reverse course in the face of violent protests. The situation is so desperate in Croatia, which relies on tourism more than any other country in the EU, that it pivoted from lockdown mode to embracing the Swedish model that allows bars and shops to stay open and there is no limit to size of public gatherings. Nowhere is the disconnect between the health risk and reticence to lock down more pronounced than in the U.S., the worst-hit nation with more than 140,000 dead and the number of infections soaring in battleground states Trump needs to win. But as far back as May, the president made his priorities clear. The approaches have been so different it’s impossible to predict what governments will do when there is an agonizing trade off between deaths and the economy.

However unpalatable, the need to shut everything down may ultimately be forced upon leaders.

Back in the U.S., Trump has resurrected his White House briefings on the virus in an attempt to reassure Americans he has the pandemic under control and life is going back to normal. On Thursday, though, he scrapped the highly attended Florida convention for the Republican Party he had been keen to hold for 20,000 ardent supporters.“The country is in very good shape, other than if you look south and west—some problems,” he said. “That will work out.”

Nick Note: Its time for your reality check.. your Zen moment. The coronavirus has mutated into a aerosol version. Proof is the number of hospitalizations and medical workers getting sick. Wipe your ass with your paper mask. This is some sick shit. They got to have their sports and entertainment, Disco, concerts, bars and restaurants, baking on the beach. Movie theaters and plays, shopping malls and big bow stores. not to mention trains, planes and their cars with no filtration.. And for all the good it will not do their kill the cats paper mask that maybe they will wear. Oh back to the reality check. You will be under lockdown… with the politicians kicking and screaming all the way.  and half of all bossiness will close down and your neighbors will lose everything and massive amounts of people will be rioting and starving on the streets. And your boomer friends who now think you are crazy will be dying in bommerville…. tent cities lining the highways, parks and streets of America. You better get your full face respirator with the life saving P3 canister filter. Be stupid and die… By the way the coronavirus its a horrible death, alone and sleeping in your shit gasping for air like a fish out of the water as the overworked staff strives to do their thankless impossible job, The system is ALREADY overwhelmed! And the best is yet to come. My conscience is clear you have been warned… listen to the stupid fucks and you wil surely die!