WSJ: Spread of COVID-19 within hospitals: https://www.wsj.com/articles/hospitals-treat-covid-19-they-spread-it-too-11594046342 . So over 5,000 cases have originated in hospitals between May 14 and June 21, and that is almost certainly underreported. No wonder that some people are afraid to go to the hospital during the pandemic, and with good reason. This is likely to focus even more attention on air circulation patterns at hospitals and other care facilities, and perhaps workplaces as well.
News round-up: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/dr-anthony-fauci-says-us-is-knee-deep-in-first-wave-of-coronavirus-as-cases-surge/vi-BB16qXoL?ocid=spartan-dhp-feeds . There is a short clip of Dr. Fauci near the start and about 20 seconds near the end of the 2½ minute clip. As to whether we’re in a first or second wave, that language comes from the 1918 flu pandemic, which showed the seasonal behavior typical with influenza.
My view is that, whenever R0 is above 1.0 for a sustained period, it’s a wave or wavelet, but this is really semantics. As COVID-19 is now embedded in the global population and does not show signs of seasonality, it will be with us at least until a vaccine is developed and globally distributed. In that sense, there may be only one “wave”, but the wave lasts for the duration of the disease which could be more than a year or even two. Mutation of its genome is a separate issue which may defeat or weaken the efficacy of a specific vaccine.
WSJ: NY nursing home staff spread COVID-19 disease to patients: https://www.wsj.com/articles/staff-spread-coronavirus-at-new-york-nursing-homes-study-says-11594070427 .
WSJ: NYC reopens nail salons, tattoo parlors: https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-begins-third-phase-of-reopening-economy-11594067967 .
WSJ: NY cities feel budget crunch: https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-municipalities-feel-budget-crunch-as-coronavirus-pandemic-squeezes-funding-11594027800 .
WSJ: More on Amy Cooper: https://www.wsj.com/articles/amy-cooper-criminally-charged-for-calling-police-on-black-bird-watcher-in-central-park-11594070712 .
Re-opening Florida schools: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-schools-reopen-august-coronavirus-surge/ . One wonders if litigation will be necessary to resolve these issues. Each parent faces tough decisions. Is there planning for online learning options? What if your child really wants to play football or other fall sports? Or if your child has special needs? What do you do with conflicting guidance from state and local authorities?
WSJ: Some European countries near elimination of COVID-19: https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-coronavirus-surges-in-u-s-some-countries-have-just-about-halted-it-11594037814 .
WSJ: Israel reimposes lockdowns: https://www.wsj.com/articles/second-coronavirus-wave-slams-israel-11594057852 .
WSJ: Where we just make stuff up: https://www.wsj.com/articles/herd-immunity-may-be-closer-than-you-think-11594076237 . You may have read this article in the opinion/commentary section and wondered what in here could possibly imply nearness to herd immunity. Here is the author’s bio: Allysia Finley – News, Articles, Biography, Photos – WSJ.com . Stanford is a great school, but a major in American Studies is not an obvious qualification for opining on herd immunity, nor is anything else in her bio.
I ventured into the reader comment section to view reader reaction. There were a few comments pointing out the obvious mathematical and medical shortcomings of this article, but the vast majority suggested readers had bought into this mess as serious science (there were 824 comments at the time I reviewed; I only reviewed about 75 of the most recent).
It is incredibly irresponsible of WSJ to print such obviously flawed material. And, this is the only WSJ article of the 8 cited today where the online headline matches the print edition. I can only conclude that this is a deliberate strategy by WSJ to make their online materials harder to find. Again, because we all have access to WSJ, I will persist in providing these links, but it is not as easy as it should be.
Brazil: Truth or consequences: President Jair Bolsonaro follows Boris Johnson, contracts COVID-19: https://www.businessinsider.com/brazilian-president-jair-bolsonaro-tests-positive-for-covid-19-2020-7 . Also true of Honduran president and his wife: https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/06/17/879093480/president-of-honduras-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-vows-to-beat-this-pandemic .
Sweden: Reaffirming that they’ve suffered elevated deaths for no gain against COVID-19 or for their economy: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/business/sweden-economy-coronavirus.html (link replaced 5/4/21). The results have apparently not moved the government.
US withdraws (allegedly) from WHO effective July 6, 2021: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/07/07/888186158/trump-sets-date-to-end-who-membership-over-its-handling-of-virus . The article provides considerable documentation of why this makes no sense, should you need any further convincing. WHO’s on first?
United Airlines: Large layoffs coming: https://www.fr24news.com/a/2020/07/united-airlines-warns-of-tens-of-thousands-of-potential-layoffs-as-new-us-coronavirus-outbreaks-hit-airline-industry.html (link replaced 10/14/21). Airlines generally cannot layoff employees until September due to the terms of their government loans. But other layoffs seem highly likely at that time.
At least 9 members of Congress benefitted from PPP money: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/06/data-lawmakers-millions-small-business-aid-349952 . Total involved exceeds $11 million. Law firms and religious organizations also borrowed substantial amounts: https://www.npr.org/2020/07/06/887839065/as-americans-avoided-restaurants-and-doctors-offices-those-businesses-got-loans . More: WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-releases-names-of-biggest-ppp-borrowers-11594047600 .
Novartis settlement with US government over drug marketing to doctors: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/it-was-his-dream-job-he-never-thought-he-d-n1232971 (link replaced 10/14/21). Settlement is $678 million; whistleblower could receive up to $75 million.
The law of unexpected consequences: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53315651 . So, a foreign student who has made the tremendous accomplishment of matriculating at Harvard could lose their investment of time, money and sweat because Harvard is going online due to COVID-19? And this could apply to any foreign student at any university. Seems like an inappropriate punishment of students we have always encouraged, for very sound reasons. And I said “unexpected” because this doesn’t look “unintended”. And, how come we’re first hearing about this from the BBC? More: https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/ice-says-international-students-taking-online-courses-have-to-transfer-or-leave-the-us-as-dozens-of-schools-shift-to-remote-learning-in-response-to-covid-19/articleshow/76824683.cms .
Potentially 1 million foreign students are affected. Per the link in the Business Insider article, higher education is pushing back hard, calling the ICE guidance “horrifying”: https://www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pages/Statement-by-ACE-President-Ted-Mitchell-on-ICE-Guidance-on-International-Students.aspx . Good for them.
Baseball: COVID-19 testing problems create another issue for the 2020 season: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/mlb-covid-19-testing-problems-not-a-good-look-mike-s-on-7-6-20/vi-BB16pmTb?ocid=spartan-dhp-feeds .