Dr. Stuart Weiss: COVID-19 Update Monday 3-August-2020
August 3, 2020
Today’s topics: Its a bad day for: Baseball, Schools reopening, New Jersey, Dr. Birx and Cruise Ships
There will NOT be a Friday call this week.
| A Bad day for Baseball \ On Saturday, the second team in Major League Baseball learned of players with positive CoViD-19 tests. In what seems to be an increasingly difficult prospect of preserving the 2020 baseball season, the St. Louis Cardinals reported more players that had tested positive. As of today, it had swelled to at least 13 players and staff. This required the postponement of the entire Cardinals-Brewers weekend series. 18 games have been called off so far. Earlier last week, the Miami Marlins reported that 18 players and 2 coaches had tested positive. Both outbreaks occurred during road trips. The league previously determined that a so-called bubble approach was impractical. The MLB commissioner stated that they are playing and will continue on but I’m not optimistic about this. A Bad day for reopening schools It will be challenging to reopen school. As some students and teachers return this week, they are bringing the virus with them into school. The New York Times reports that traditionally, about 14% of school children start school by the second week in August in the South and Midwest. In Indiana, for example, they opened the schools for in school learning and two days later, they shut the high school down when staff members tested positive. At a high school in Mississippi, someone tested positive during the first week and students who were exposed had to quarantine for 14 days. In the largest school system in Georgia, 260 employees are excluded because of positive tests or close contact with a positive case. Until we have daily inexpensive testing, this will continue to be a problem with in class learning. A Bad Day for New Jersey For a while, New Jersey was doing well and along with New York and other states in the region, had low case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths. Unfortunately that trend has reversed and the numbers are rising in NJ. As a result, Governor Murphy today lowered the indoor gathering limit from 100 people to 25 people. Some people are worried that partying on the Jersey shore in contributing to the rise in cases. A Bad Day for Dr. Birx For the first time, President Trump took a shot at his head of the White house coronavirus taskforce. This was in response to Dr. Birx warning Americans who live in rural areas that they are not immune from this virus. In fact, the spread of the virus seems to be happening more and more in rural areas. Dr. Fauci quickly came to the defense of Dr. Birx this morning and agreed with her assessment of the ongoing spread of the virus. A Bad Day for Cruise Ships In the “Who even knew that you could take a cruise now” department, a Norwegian cruise ship line apologized today for procedural errors that caused 5 passengers and 36 crew to become infected and possibly spread virus to dozens of towns and villages along the western coastline of Norway. They have now halted all trips. Be well and take care of yourself. There are storm clouds on the horizon –Dr. Stu |
COVID-19 HEADLINES FOR TODAY
| Coronavirus update for August 3, 2020 World Wide Updates Large gatherings continue on Rio de Janeiro beaches despite rising Covid-19 cases 90-minute coronavirus tests to be rolled out in UK Only 2.5% of Italians have Covid-19 antibodies, government study shows Brazilian president’s chief of staff tests positive for Covid-19 Portugal reports no coronavirus deaths for first time since March Mexico schools will begin year with remote learning Iraq closing in on 5,000 deaths as Covid-19 cases continue to spread Portugal sees 96% decline in overnight stays by foreigners in June, data shows Covid-19 is having a “direct, negative impact” on health systems around the world, WHO official says Vietnam reports 21 new coronavirus cases French prime minister urges citizens not to let guard down in fight against Covid-19 The UK’s troubled coronavirus response becomes more complicated German governments blasts weekend coronavirus protests UK launches half-price meal scheme in bid to boost restaurants and pubs Hong Kong reports drop in Covid-19 cases Spain suffers 97.7% drop in tourism China says Hong Kong’s election delay is “reasonable and lawful” Australia is imposing strict new virus prevention measures in the state of Victoria Critics accuse the Philippines government of using the coronavirus lockdown to crack down on dissent The leader of a South Korean religious group was arrested for violating an anti-virus law Japan just recorded a fifth day in a row of 1,000-plus cases of Covid-19 China reports 43 new coronavirus cases, including 36 locally transmitted infections India reported nearly 53,000 more cases of Covid-19 Bolivia records its highest coronavirus death count in a day as cases top 80,000 Mexico reports nearly 5,000 new coronavirus cases Philippine capital to reimpose tightened coronavirus restrictions as countrywide cases surpass 100,000 Brazil surpasses 94,000 coronavirus deaths as Latin America region tops 200,000 total deaths COVID-19 outbreaks hit cruise ships in Norway, Tahiti, and Italy European authorities kill 1 million minks as coronavirus precaution Manila to go back into lockdown Belgium’s Covid-19 ICU admissions double in a month Singapore to use electronic tags to track quarantine compliance of some travelers Total Cases Worldwide: 18,379,880 Total Deaths Worldwide: 695,358 Total Recovered: 11,606,108 US Updates US stocks open higher McConnell blames Schumer and Pelosi for stalled negotiations, points to “massive wish list” Trump says he’s “totally involved” with stimulus negotiations Arkansas governor says number of people hospitalized is still high 7 St. Louis Cardinals players test positive for Covid-19 Ohio reports more than 900 new Covid-19 cases New Jersey governor reduces indoor gathering limits At least 260 employees in Georgia’s largest school district test positive for coronavirus Another Indiana high school football player tests positive for Covid-19 NHL announces no Covid-19 cases during first week of return to play Another Houston firefighter has died from Covid-19, department says 85 Chicago police officers tested positive for Covid-19 in July Maryland governor issues emergency order to prohibit blanket school closures during pandemic Illinois reports more than 1,000 Covid-19 cases for 13 straight days Michigan Senate cancels week of sessions as lawmaker tests positive for Covid-19 Columbus, Ohio public schools will start year completely remotely More than 500 new Covid-19 cases reported in Pennsylvania Randomized coronavirus testing to become mandatory at White House complex Florida reports more than 4,700 new resident Covid-19 cases Maryland added 870 new Covid-19 cases House Speaker Pelosi says she is not willing to negotiate on federal $600 unemployment benefits NYC sheriffs arrested people aboard a party boat they say violated Covid-19 emergency orders Stimulus negotiation talks resumed this afternoon TSA screened nearly 800,000 passengers yesterday Florida’s top business regulator started meeting with bars to discuss reopening Eli Lilly moves into late-stage trial of its antibody therapy for Covid-19 Men’s Wearhouse-owner Tailored Brands files for bankruptcy HSBC profits plunged 65% due to the pandemic Philadelphia Eagles coach tests positive for Covid-19 Los Angeles County Health Department investigating after reports of a private indoor party at a bar Georgia reports more than 2,200 new Covid-19 cases Trump blasts Dr. Birx as ‘pathetic’ for telling truth about coronavirus resurgence Total US cases: 4,846,095 Total US deaths: 158,743 Total Recovered: 2,431,292 Total Tested in US: 56,812,162 Total cases in CA: 519,279 Total deaths in CA: 9,431 Total cases in FL: 491,884 Total deaths in FL: 7,157 Total cases in TX: 453,745 Total deaths in TX: 7,378 Total cases in NY: 445,619 Total deaths in NY: 32,790 |
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