Just a few weeks ago, Kem Kemp, a high school teacher in Houston, knew no one personally who had tested positive for the coronavirus. Then her roommate came down with a deep cough and was diagnosed with Covid-19. Her brother, a dentist in Amarillo, Texas, also tested positive. A neighbor fell sick with the virus. Two faculty members at the private school where she teaches were required to quarantine. And in the last few days, so were two of the students she advises.
Before, we were watching the numbers on the news, said Ms. Kemp, 62. Now its started creeping into my neighborhood, my school, my home right where Im existing.
As Covid-19 cases surge in almost every part of the country, researchers say the United States is fast approaching what could be a significant tipping point a pandemic so widespread that every American knows someone who has been infected. But, as reflected in the polarized response to the virus, the public remains deeply divided about how and whether to fight it, and it is unclear whether seeing friends and relatives sick or dead will change that.
Many who have seen people close to them seriously affected say they are taking increased precautions. Others, though, are focusing on how most people recover and are shrugging off the virus and calls for concerted efforts to combat it.
The United States surpassed 11 million reported virus cases on Sunday, with one million of those tallied in just the last week. The daily average of new cases is up by 80 percent from two weeks ago. More than 69,000 people were in American hospitals with Covid-19 on Saturday; more than 1,100 deaths are being reported each day on average.
Those alarming numbers the highest case numbers and death toll in the world underscore a reality found in small towns, big cities and sprawling suburbs alike: The coronavirus has become personal.
Researchers estimate that nearly all Americans have someone in their social circle who has had the virus. About a third of the population knows someone from a close relative to a neighbor to a co-worker to a friend of a friend who has died from the virus, researchers say. But not everyone is hunkering down in fear or taking precautions as simple as wearing a mask.
As more and more people know someone who gets sick and dies, more and more Americans are likely to take this disease seriously, said Nicholas A. Christakis, a Yale sociologist and the author of Apollos Arrow, a new book about the impact of the virus. But the effect of knowing people who survived it may lead people to misread Covid as not being as bad as it is.
Ms. Kemp, for one, has become more vigilant since listening to her roommate cough herself to sleep at night. She wears a mask when she walks her dog, and notices when others do not. Wessie and John Dietz, of Sauk County, Wis., wear masks even in their car since their 20-year-old grandson, an electricians apprentice, appeared to have contracted the virus from a friend he took a ride with. I hadnt even thought about it before that, Ms. Dietz said.
And April Polk, of Memphis, has urged all young people to follow restrictions to curb the spread of the virus since her 24-year-old sister, Lameshia, died this summer.
I was one of the ones that didnt take it seriously, and it took for me to lose my little sister to realize how real this virus is, Ms. Polk said. Every day were suffering, and we have to be reminded of what happened and how it happened to her.
Nearly 2.2 million Americans have lost a close family member to Covid, research has shown, with troubling emotional and financial effects for children, widows and parents. Kristin Urquiza, 39, of San Francisco, said she continues to have nightmares about her fathers death from the disease in late June in Arizona. Rosie Davis, a skin laser technician in Carrollton, Texas, has been attending remote grieving classes since her mother died in May at a hospital: I will never have closure because I was not able to be next her when she passed, Ms. Davis said.
Kerry Knudson, of Sioux Falls, S.D. has been a wreck, she said, after people in her circle died and her daughter, Jadyn, 13, contracted the virus. With the virus percolating fast through Jadyns middle school three months later, Jadyn is still battling waves of exhaustion and fever.
But for Dennis Rohr 77, even learning that an acquaintance had died from Covid-19 a few days after sitting beside him at a dinner table has not changed his opinion that the disease is relatively benign.
His grandsons family has all been infected, Mr. Rohr said, as have his granddaughters. The guitar and piano player in his rock n roll band both got the virus recently, and one was hospitalized. But, he notes, most people recover.
Fear and hysteria have created more problems than the virus itself, said Mr. Rohr, a city commissioner in Mandan, N.D., the state with the highest rate of known cases in the country. Most people I know have had sniffles and loss of taste.
Ken Weigel, 57, also knows many people who have been infected with the coronavirus. The list includes himself, his wife and their son, and his 83-year-old mother, who is currently infected.
But there is more to consider, he said, than a simple calculation about health risks, like the side-effects of shutting down the economy, stifling individual freedom and isolating people from one another.
Theres so many people dying from suicides and depression and alcoholism and drug overdose, and its just wrong, said Mr. Weigel, who works as a hot shot driver for Halliburton at the oil fields in Minot, N.D.
For some, the lessons learned have as much to do with faith as public health.
Gabriel Quintas accepts the death of his favorite uncle, Joel Quintas, from Covid-19 complications at the age of 39 as the will of God and says that he harbors no anger or resentment. Joel, who worked in a bakery in Champaign, Ill., was not the only one in his family to contract the coronavirus, but he was the only one to die from it in the United States. Gabriels own parents and two of his brothers tested positive and so did both of Joels young sons, though they all made full recoveries.
We dont want to blame anybody, Gabriel, 20, said. It is something tragic that happened and we want to move on.
Research has shown that the lessons people draw from their social networks can be more powerful than anything they read on the news or receive from a government or educational institution they may not trust. How Americans perceive the threat of the virus in the lives of their friends and acquaintances will likely influence their willingness to be vaccinated, researchers said.
The perceived threat of the virus may also depend on how close someone is to a person who has died or suffered a long-term disability as a result of the virus. While about a third of Americans know someone who has died of Covid-19, only a small percentage can count a virus victim among their 20 closest contacts, according to a calculation by James Moody, director of a network analysis center at Duke University.
Its the old joke about Facebook friends, Dr. Moody said. How many of them will help you move your couch? If youre talking to a friend of a friend about someone who died, at that point its not impactful in the way that tends to shape peoples behavior.
Mike Weinhaus, who was hospitalized with Covid-19 in St. Louis this spring at the same time as his wife, has actively sought to share their cautionary tale with friends, family and wider social network. His wife, Jane, went on a ventilator, then off, then back on again. Neither had pre-existing conditions. Two of his children and a daughter-in-law have also had Covid-19.
But Mr. Weinhaus knows his personal experience can only go so far as a means of persuasion.
When I see people that arent practicing social distancing and refuse to wear masks, I do not go up to them and say, Youre making a big mistake, because you arent going to win that battle, Mr. Weinhaus said.
The virus tore through Jennifer L. Stacys family over a nine-month stretch, with an older brother, a younger sister and a nephew among those infected. On Friday, Ms. Stacys immediate family went to get tested after possible exposure from another family member.
Like many Americans gripped by Covid-19, Ms. Stacy, 57, a budget analyst, had learned to live with technology as a stand-in for visits to her mother in Charlottesville, Va. An hour away at her home in Locust Grove, Va., she created a bubble with her husband and close relatives, forging a routine of sanitizer, masks and social distancing.
And when Virginia relaxed some restrictions over the summer, she worried that it would eventually lead to an increase in cases. Now, as Ms. Stacy awaits her own test results, the virus feels closer than ever and the need to be cautious more urgent.
I used to mask up and go to the grocery store, she said. Now I am ordering online with curbside delivery, She added: I still did not anticipate Covid would come into my own house.
Reporting was contributed by Julie Bosman, Jack Healy, Melina Delkic, Dan Levin, Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio, Rick Rojas, Simon Romero, John Eligon and Mitch Smith.
This is a breaking news blog for all of the latest updates about the coronavirus pandemic. Get our complete coronavirus coverage here
What is triggering closings? Check out the KPBS Trigger Tracker
COVID-19 Hospitalizations Rise Over Weekend In Riverside County
6:17 p.m., Monday, Nov. 16, 2020
The number of coronavirus infections confirmed in Riverside County increased by 1,668 over the weekend, with seven additional deaths stemming from virus complications, amid a general statewide upswing in COVID cases that prompted the governor Monday to announce a tightening of economic restrictions.
"California is experiencing the fastest increase in cases we have seen yet -- faster than what we experienced at the outset of the pandemic or even this summer," Gov. Gavin Newsom said. "The spread of COVID-19, if left unchecked, could quickly overwhelm our health care system and lead to catastrophic outcomes."
He said he has applied an "emergency brake" on the color-coded Blueprint for a Safer Economy, which entails a four-stage tier structure to lower the regulatory bar and allow economic sectors to reopen.
The county is already in the lowest tier, "purple," impacting offices, gyms, restaurants, movie theaters and places of worship.
The Board of Supervisors will discuss the governor's action during its meeting Tuesday. City News Service
WATCH: San Diego Businesses Hold Rally Downtown Against New COVID-19 Restrictions
3:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 16, 2020
Supervisor Jim Desmond holds a rally outside of the County Administration Building to urge the Board of Supervisors and Gov. Gavin Newsom to allow San Diego County businesses to remain open despite the state-mandated restrictions brought on by the purple tier.
San Diego Reports 6th Consecutive Day Of 600-Plus New Coronavirus Cases
2 38 p.m., Monday, Nov. 16, 2020
San Diego County health officials reported another huge jump in COVID-19 cases 833 but no additional deaths Monday, bringing the county's total to 65,501 cases, with the death toll remaining at 926.
Monday was the sixth consecutive day that more than 600 new coronavirus cases were reported by the county. The 833 cases reported Monday are the second most the county has announced in a single day during the pandemic, following a record high of 1,087 reported Sunday and a then-record 736 Saturday.
On Wednesday, a then-record 661 cases were reported in the county surpassing the 652 cases reported Aug. 7. Another 620 cases were reported Thursday.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department announced Monday that 55 of 70 inmates in the 1C module of the George Bailey Detention Facility had tested positive for COVID-19.
Newsom Pulls 'Emergency Brake' On State's Reopening Plan As Virus Cases Surge
2 p.m., Monday, Nov. 16, 2020
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he was pulling the emergency brake Monday on the state's efforts to reopen its economy as coronavirus cases surge more dramatically than they did during a summer spike.
We are sounding the alarm, Newsom said in a statement. California is experiencing the fastest increase in cases we have seen yet faster than what we experienced at the outset of the pandemic or even this summer. The spread of COVID-19, if left unchecked, could quickly overwhelm our health care system and lead to catastrophic outcomes."
The action that Newsom called the emergency brake in the Blueprint for a Safer Economy will impose more restrictions on businesses across most of the state. He said masks would now be required outside homes with limited exceptions.
The troubling rise in cases in November has come at a faster pace than a spike in mid-June and could quickly surpass the peak of the hospitalizations at the time, health officials have said. The state became the second in the U.S. last week to surpass 1 million case of the virus as the U.S. has now recorded more than 11 million cases.
The new rules are certain to rankle business owners such as restaurateurs and gym owners who have been struggling to get back on their feet after lengthy shutdowns followed by reopenings that have at times been curtailed as cases have risen. Associated Press
SD County Reports Record Of 1,087 New COVID-19 Cases
5:36 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020
San Diego County health officials have reported a huge jump in COVID-19 cases a record 1,087 and no additional deaths, bringing the county's totals to 64,768 cases and the death toll remaining at 926.
Sunday was the fifth-consecutive day that more than 600 new coronavirus cases were reported by the county.
On Saturday, the county set a record of 736 new cases. On Wednesday, a record 661 cases were reported in the county surpassing the 652 cases reported Aug. 7. Another 620 cases were reported Thursday.
"We have not seen cases this high in months, and it's a clear indication that COVID-19 is widespread," said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public health officer. City News Service
SD County Reports Record 736 New COVID-19 Cases, Five More Deaths
5:36 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020
San Diego County health officials have reported a record 736 new COVID-19 cases Saturday and five more deaths as nonessential businesses moved to outdoor-only when the county went from the red to the purple tier of the state's four-tiered coronavirus reopening plan.
The data increases the total caseload since the start of the pandemic to 63,681, with the death toll rising to 926. This is the fourth consecutive day that more than 600 new coronavirus cases were reported by the county.
On Wednesday, a record 661 COVID-19 cases were reported in the county surpassing the 652 cases reported Aug. 7. Another 620 cases were reported Thursday.
"We have not seen cases this high in months, and it's a clear indication that COVID-19 is widespread," said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public health officer.
"These totals also show people are not following the public health recommendations that we know work to prevent getting and passing COVID-19."
Wooten added that in the weeks following Halloween, this record case jump is a warning sign people "need to follow public health guidance throughout the upcoming holiday season."
This comes as state data has landed the county in the most restrictive tier of the state's COVID-19 reopening plan. The restrictions associated with the purple tier went into effect just after midnight Saturday. City News Service
U.S. Adds 184,000 Coronavirus Cases In 1 Day, With No End In Sight
4:01 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020
The U.S. added more than 184,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Friday, the fourth day in a row that the country has set a record for daily infections, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.
It has been about four weeks since the U.S. overtook India to see the most daily cases of any country in the world. While India's case numbers spiked in September, they have largely been on a downward path since then. But cases in the U.S. continue to surge. For the first time, the country's seven-day moving average of new cases has surpassed 150,000.
America is also the world leader in coronavirus fatalities, with over 244,000 COVID-19 related deaths. More than 1,400 people died from the virus in the U.S. on Friday the most deaths that day of any country.
For the moment, daily deaths are below the peak of around 2,200 daily fatalities the U.S. saw in April. But deaths are known to lag behind rising infection rates, as it often takes several weeks for the virus to become fatal. Matthew S. Schwartz, NPR
San Diego Has Third Straight Day Of 600-Plus New COVID-19 Cases
5:35 p.m, Friday, Nov. 13, 2020
San Diego County health officials reported an additional 611 COVID-19 cases and three more deaths Friday as nonessential businesses prepare for another closure at midnight as the county prepares to enter the purple tier of the state's four-tiered coronavirus reopening plan.
The data increases the total caseload since the start of the pandemic to 62,945, with the death toll rising to 921. This is the third consecutive day that more than 600 new coronavirus cases were reported by the county.
On Wednesday, a record 661 COVID-19 cases were reported in the county surpassing the 652 cases reported Aug. 7. Another 620 cases were reported Thursday.
"We have not seen cases this high in months, and it's a clear indication that COVID-19 is widespread," said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public health officer.
"These totals also show people are not following the public health recommendations that we know work to prevent getting and passing COVID-19."
Wooten added that in the weeks following Halloween, this record case jump is a warning sign people "need to follow public health guidance throughout the upcoming holiday season." City News Service
Local Restaurants, Gyms, Sue County And State Over COVID-19 Shutdowns
3:21 p.m., Friday, Nov. 13, 2020
Four local restaurants and gyms are suing the state and county over its coronavirus restrictions as a shutdown of indoor operations looms for many county businesses.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in San Diego Superior Court on behalf of Cowboy Star Restaurant and Butcher Shop, Home & Away Encinitas, Fit Athletic Club and Bear Republic.
The suit comes as San Diego County is slated to shut down indoor operations for nonessential businesses at midnight due to its recent entry into the most restrictive, purple tier of the state's coronavirus reopening plan.
The businesses allege that San Diego's increased case numbers are not a result of exposures at restaurants, gyms and other types of businesses that will be impacted by the impending closures. The lawsuit cites recent figures indicating restaurants/bars, retail businesses, places of worship, schools and gyms make up a small percentage of confirmed community outbreaks. City News Service
Newsom Says He Should Not Have Attended Dinner Party
3:15 p.m., Friday, Nov. 13, 2020
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he should not have attended a birthday dinner for a dozen people at the posh French Laundry restaurant last week, saying that he should have set a better example for a virus-fatigued state that is seeing steep increases in coronavirus cases.
Newsom, who has pleaded with residents to avoid social gatherings that mix households, said in a statement Friday that while our family followed the restaurants health protocols and took safety precautions, we should have modeled better behavior and not joined the dinner.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday of the Nov. 6 dinner to celebrate the 50th birthday of Newsom's longtime friend and political adviser Jason Kinney. The outdoor dinner at The French Laundry in Yountville in Napa County brought together 12 people, including the governor and his wife.
State guidelines limit gatherings, defined as social situations that bring together people from different households at the same time in a single space or place, to no more than three households. It's unclear if the rule applies to restaurants, however, which follow different guidance.
The California Republican Party said in a tweet that the governor seems to be talking out of both sides of his mouth. Associated Press
Live Blog: WATCH: California Health And Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly Gives Update On COVID-19 In California
12:00 p.m., Friday, Nov. 13, 2020
California, Oregon, Washington Issue Virus Travel Advisories
11:45 a.m., Friday, Nov. 13, 2020
The governors of California, Oregon and Washington issued travel advisories Friday urging people entering their states or returning from outside the states to self-quarantine to slow the spread of the coronavirus, California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said.
The advisories urge people to avoid non-essential out-of-state travel, ask people to self-quarantine for 14 days after arriving from another state or country and encourage residents to stay local, a statement said.
California just surpassed a sobering threshold one million COVID-19 cases with no signs of the virus slowing down, Newsom wrote. Increased cases are adding pressure on our hospital systems and threatening the lives of seniors, essential workers and vulnerable Californians." Associated Press
SD County Reports Additional 1,281 COVID-19 Cases Over Two-Day Period
11:43 a.m., Friday, Nov. 13, 2020
San Diego County health officials have reported an additional 620 COVID-19 cases and three more deaths, increasing the total caseload since the start of the pandemic to 62,334, with the death toll rising to 918.
On Tuesday, a record 661 COVID-19 cases were reported in the county surpassing the 652 cases reported Aug. 7.
"We have not seen cases this high in months and it's a clear indication that COVID-19 is widespread," said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public health officer.
"These totals also show people are not following the public health recommendations that we know work to prevent getting and passing COVID-19."
Wooten added that in the weeks following Halloween, this record case jump is a warning sign people "need to follow public health guidance throughout the upcoming holiday season."
This comes as state data has landed the county in the most restrictive tier of the state's COVID-19 reopening plan. The restrictions associated with the purple tier will go into place just after midnight tonight, Wooten said. City News Service
Escondido's Pioneer Elementary Suspends On-Campus Activities After 3 COVID-19 Cases
6 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020
All on-campus activities, including in-person classes, at Pioneer Elementary School were suspended after three people tested positive for the coronavirus, the Escondido Union School District (EUSD) announced Thursday.
The district said the cases were separate, unrelated to each other and happened off-campus. The temporary suspension was done out of an abundance of caution and will last through Nov. 30.
We understand that an interruption of on-campus activities causes a huge disruption to our families and staff. But this action is necessary to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the community, EUSD superintendent Luis Rankins-Ibarra said. The safety and security of our students and staff continue to be at the forefront of all decisions.
The distribution of free, to-go meals, however, will continue, the district said.
To date, there have been 17 COVID-19 cases at EUSD impacting nine campuses, resulting in 165 students and 33 staffers being quarantined. Alexander Nguyen, KPBS News
California Surpasses 1 Million Coronavirus Cases Mark
4:05 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020
California has become the second state to record 1 million confirmed coronavirus infections. Texas reached the mark earlier this week.
Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University showed Thursday that California surpassed the grim milestone. It comes nearly 10 months after the first cases were confirmed in the most populous state.
California was the first in the nation to implement a statewide stay-at-home order on its nearly 40 million residents in March.
After spiking in the summer, the rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases in California declined markedly into the fall but now is surging again, like much of the nation. This week, 11 counties had rates high enough that state restrictions were reimposed on certain businesses and activities. Associated Press
San Diego Courts Not Closing Despite Countys Purple Tier Status
1:40 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020
San Diego County's recent dip into the most restrictive tier of the state's coronavirus reopening plan will not lead to additional court closures or changes to local court operations, the San Diego Superior Court announced Thursday.
Rising case rates led the state to place San Diego County into the purple tier of the reopening plan, meaning indoor operations will cease at many nonessential businesses starting Saturday.
While court operations were initially put on hold at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, court officials said its essential status will not lead to further modifications even with this latest development. Precautions such as temperature screenings, increased cleaning, social distancing and facial covering requirements remain in place. City News Service
With the coronavirus crisis worsening by the day, The Colorado Sun reached out to three people who survived the disease in the spring to hear how their recovery is going and see what advice they have for their fellow Coloradans as the state weathers this latest surge.
Doug Summerfield, a 75-year-old Arvada man who spent a month on a ventilator, said he gets that people may be tired of coronavirus restrictions. But he said they are nothing compared to the effects of COVID-19.
Believe me, they are not inconveniences compared to trying to recover from this, compared to trying to deal with the financial expense that hits you, he said. You dont want to get it.
Click the audio files below to hear from the survivors.
About five months after being released from a rehab center, Doug Summerfield remains pretty weak. His wrist is still in excruciating pain from nerve damage and has required surgery. He sometimes struggles to breathe.
Not real great, is how he said he feels. I had hopes when I got out of rehab that in a couple months Id be back to normal. Everybody is telling me its going to take a year. Im afraid theyre right.
Summerfield fell ill with COVID-19 in late March and spent about a month on a ventilator. Doctors thought he wouldnt live, especially given his battles with asthma. But in May, he awoke he calls it a miracle and began what has turned into a long recovery.
Emotionally, Summerfield says he is doing OK, but he gets choked up when discussing the anxiety his friends and family contended with as he lay in a hospital bed on the edge of death.
MORE: 75-year-old Arvada man who spent a month on ventilator after coronavirus infection returns home from hospital
I didnt go through a month sitting on the couch like my wife did counting the seconds in the night, he said. My wife, my children, my friends all of those people went through a horrible time. Some of them cant even talk about it. That tears me up.
He thinks people who refuse to follow social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines even now are not being very intelligent.
Just the first week in the hospital was astronomically expensive, he said. Thank God I had decent insurance. For people who dont have insurance good insurance for Gods sake you dont want to catch this if for no other reason (than) it will financially ruin you. It will kill you.
Lisa Merck, a 51-year-old nurse practitioner in Crested Butte, was one of the first people in Colorado known to catch the coronavirus, but she still hasnt totally shaken the effects of the disease.
She estimates she is about 95% of her normal self. In the months following her infection, she dealt with sore throats, headaches and hair loss. In August, she felt like she had a mini relapse of COVID shortness of breath, a racing heart and chest pain.
My sense of smell hasnt totally come back yet, she said.
Merck started feeling ill on Feb. 18 Colorados first confirmed case wasnt until March 5 as she and her husband were returning from a medical conference in Hawaii. Her symptoms worsened to the point that she went to the hospital on March 8 and received a pneumonia diagnosis. She was tested for COVID-19, and the results came back positive.
Since Merck is a nurse with her own clinic, she wanted to receive two negative COVID-19 test results before returning to work. That took a difficult two months as she kept getting conflicting readouts.
MORE: A Crested Butte woman came home from Hawaii with sniffles. Then she found out it was coronavirus.
Im frustrated with the whole way the entire way that the coronavirus has been handled, honestly, she said.
The latest from the coronavirus outbreak in Colorado:
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If all Americans would just wear masks, she thinks businesses could stay open and infection rates would drop. She understands how hard it is for people to stay apart from each other, but its crucial that they be careful.
Even though you think youre healthy, and youre immune to it, youre not immune to it, she said. We dont know how its going to affect each person. Everybody is different. Merck pointed to the fact that her husband also caught coronavirus, but his infection was mild and only lasted a few days compared to her months-long ordeal.
Merck still hasnt resumed seeing patients in person at her clinic in Crested Butte for fear of catching the virus again.
Honestly, I am afraid of getting reinfected, she said. Im not opening my clinic doors until we see corona go down.
Dan Michaelec believes he caught COVID-19 at the end of February during a Vail ski trip. Just over a week later, the 55-year-old Parker man checked into a hospital.
He doesnt remember the three and a half weeks that followed. His condition had deteriorated enough that doctors put him into a medically induced coma and on a ventilator.
Michaelec stayed in five different hospitals and rehab centers as his health improved, worsened and improved again. After nine weeks of treatment he was finally well enough to return home and see his wife and kids in person.
But Michaelecs path to recovery has not been linear. While hes hesitant to call himself a long-hauler as other coronavirus survivors with lasting symptoms are known, some of the effects of the virus remain to this day, including lung scarring, high blood pressure, kidney dysfunction, spotty memory, motor and balance issues, and fatigue.
Despite setbacks, Michaelec is focused on finding markers of success: his first breath sans ventilator, his first bite of real food in weeks a giant sub sandwich and pushing himself to regain his strength through physical therapy sessions.
Im very blessed and very proud of where Im at, Michaelec said. My goal is to be that if you ever saw me on the street, you would never know what I went through.
Michaelec doesnt want to preach, but he does want people to feel a sense of social responsibility when it comes to living in a pandemic.
Educate yourself and make the best decisions for you, while you still continue to enjoy this beautiful thing we have called life, he said. But also remember that your decisions can impact others as well.
If anything, Michaelec says, his wife is more intent on fighting the pandemic than he is; after all, she experienced the moment-to-moment stress and trauma of his hospital stay.
What she had to go through, and what my daughters had to go through, its very sad, and I dont wish that upon anybody ever, Michaelec said. Ever.
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By Spencer Custodio | 16 hours ago
Orange County has moved back to the most restrictive tier of the states business reopening system as the second Coronavirus wave is hitting the county and increasingly sending more people to hospital beds.
OC now sits in the Purple Tier, the most restrictive level.
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That means an end to indoor operations at restaurants, gyms, places of worship and movie theaters, while further limiting indoor operations in the rest of the businesses. Most college classes except lab classes will also be moved back to video conferences.
Elementary, junior high and high schools that have already reopened wont be affected by OCs move back to the Purple Tier.
We are seeing community spread, broadly, now throughout the state of California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a Monday news conference.
State public health officials removed a two-week wait period before counties either advance or fall back in the tiering system because of the rapid spread of virus cases across the state.
All of Southern Californias counties now sit in the Purple Tier.
The cases are spiking so fast, Newsom said theyre entertaining the idea of a potential statewide curfew.
The notion of a curfew we are assessing that as well, Newsom said.
He said officials studying curfew effects from France, Germany and Saudi Arabia.
What does a real curfew mean in terms of certain types of industries and business sectors, he said. We really want the data to bear out.
Secretary of the state Health and Human Services Agency, Dr. Mark Ghaly, said it could be months before the current case spikes stabilize.
Hopefully by the end of December, we are seeing case rates come down and we can move forward in the tier system, Ghaly said at Mondays news conference.
He said todays spikes in cases means a surge in hospitalizations is around the corner.
Tracing the data over many many months, shows that cases today will end up in the hospitals in two to three weeks, Ghaly said, adding roughly 14% of newly infected people will end up in a hospital bed.
Meanwhile, Orange Countys increased case rates have led to a steady increase in hospitalizations.
As of Monday, 257 people were hospitalized, including 85 in intensive care units.
Thats the highest number of hospitalizations since early September, when OC was still reeling from the Summer case spikes.
State public health officials warn the new cases across the state are increasing faster than the Summer wave, which saw over 700 people hospitalized in Orange County at one point in July.
The number of new cases per day has increased dramatically since the beginning of November, said acting state Health Officer Dr. Erica Pan at a Friday news conference.
She said compared to the summer spike, this is almost a 20 percent faster rate of rise and the fastest rate of rise we have seen in California.
And the second wave could be worse than the first, she said.
We did see a peak in July and our concern with this rapid rate of rise, the peak could be even higher, Pan said.
Local epidemiologists also share Pans concerns.
Since the pandemic began in March, the virus has now killed 1,526 people out of 65,605 confirmed cases, according to the county Health Care Agency.
The virus has already killed nearly three times as many people as the flu does on average in Orange County.
For context, Orange County has averaged around 20,000 deaths a year since 2016, including 543 annual flu deaths, according to state health data.
According to those same statistics, cancer kills over 4,600 people, heart disease kills over 2,800, over 1,400 die from Alzheimers disease and strokes kill over 1,300 people.
Ghaly is urging people to rethink large Thanksgiving dinners this year.
Many of us have COVID fatigue, Ghaly said at the Friday news conference. The safest gatherings remain those that happen at home with members of your own household.
State public health officials also released guidelines for Thanksgiving dinners Friday, which calls for no more than three households to join the dinner, wear masks as much as possible and try to eat outside.
Officials are also urging a two-week travel quarantine for people traveling to California.
Travel, having others travel to your home, could potentially cause increased transmission, Ghaly said. It isnt a restriction, this is an advisory.
Officials are also asking people to not travel out of state or even to other counties as the virus cases are surging.
Were encouraging Californians to stay close to home. To avoid non essential travel to other states, other countries and frankly across the state, Ghaly said.
Yet state public health officials werent considering issuing a stay home order, as of Friday.
We are not looking today at a statewide stay at home order. We know that many Californians are fatigued and tired, Ghaly said Friday.
But that could change.
This is a quickly, rapidly evolving situation and we will do whatever it takes to properly protect the health of the California population, he said.
Heres the latest on the virus numbers across Orange County from county data:
Infections | Hospitalizations & Deaths | City-by-City Data | Demographics
The new coronavirus was circulating in Italy since September 2019, a study by the National Cancer Institute (INT) of the Italian city of Milan shows, signaling that COVID-19 might have spread beyond China earlier than previously thought.
The World Health Organization has said the new coronavirus and COVID-19, the respiratory disease it causes, were unknown before the outbreak was first reported in Wuhan, in central China, in December.
Italys first COVID-19 patient was detected on Feb. 21 in a little town near Milan, in the northern region of Lombardy.
But the Italian researchers findings, published by the INTs scientific magazine Tumori Journal, show that 11,6% of 959 healthy volunteers enrolled in a lung cancer screening trial between September 2019 and March 2020, had developed coronavirus antibodies well before February.
A further specific SARS-CoV-2 antibodies test was carried out by the University of Siena for the same research titled Unexpected detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the pre-pandemic period in Italy.
It showed that four cases dated back to the first week of October were also positive for antibodies neutralizing the virus, meaning they had got infected in September, Giovanni Apolone, a co-author of the study, told Reuters.
This is the main finding: people with no symptoms not only were positive after the serological tests but had also antibodies able to kill the virus, Apolone said.
It means that the new coronavirus can circulate among the population for long and with a low rate of lethality not because it is disappearing but only to surge again, he added.
Italian researchers told Reuters in March that they reported a higher than usual number of cases of severe pneumonia and flu in Lombardy in the last quarter of 2019 in a sign that the new coronavirus might have circulated earlier than previously thought.
Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise
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Iqra Beg is one of dozens of Texas tourists who were stranded in Peru in March, after the South American country abruptly shut its borders because of the burgeoning coronavirus pandemic.
Under a military-enforced curfew, the Texans spent days frantically trying to contact the unresponsive U.S. embassy and consulate, spending hundreds of dollars extending their hotels and Airbnbs and growing increasingly panicked when they couldnt find open flights back to the U.S. to their jobs and families.
They thought the nightmare was over when government-chartered planes arrived to fly them to Miami.
Months later, the bills arrived.
The U.S. State Department has sent letters to Texans like Beg in recent weeks asking for repayment for the repatriation flights and threatening to withhold tax refunds or social security payments if the debt goes unpaid for months. Many of the tourists signed promissory notes before boarding the flights back promising to pay, without knowing exactly how much they would owe until they received the bill.
Those Texans are among the more than 100,000 citizens and permanent residents the State Department has helped bring back during the coronavirus pandemic, with less than half taking government chartered-flights and agreeing to pay the cost, a department official said. Most of the remainder bought tickets for commercial flights and, in rare cases, a U.S. military or government aircraft was used, according to the official.
Lawmakers in Congress have tried unsuccessfully to waive payments for the repatriated Americans with U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, a Nevada Democrat, saying for many, getting home meant thousands of dollars in unanticipated expenses incurred through no fault of their own.
But a bill co-sponsored by Masto and six other lawmakers none from Texas has failed to pass.
The Texas Tribune interviewed or reviewed bills received by a half-dozen Texans marooned in Peru, most of whom was charged around $1,300 for an evacuation flight, and said the cost was higher than they expected. Interest will be added if they dont pay within a month of the due date, and they could be placed in the crosshairs of a private debt collection agency, have their credit damaged or their wages garnished if the debt goes unpaid long enough, the letters say. Their payments are due in October and November.
The reimbursement amount established is the reasonable commercial air fare immediately prior to the events giving rise to the evacuation, or the cost of the charter divided by the number of passengers, whichever is lower, the letters say.
Beg, a Dallas educator, said she hadnt expected the bill to come seven months later and to be so high, after she already spent hundreds of dollars to extend her hotel in Cusco, pay for an overnight stay in Miami and then a domestic flight from there to her home in Dallas. She had tried to cancel her March visit to Machu Picchu as coronavirus concerns grew but was told by her travel company that the $1,000 all-inclusive trip would not be refunded. Her original return flight, also booked through the travel company, was not refunded, she said.
The State Department is required by law to seek reimbursement for evacuation assistance up to what would be considered reasonable commercial airfare in a normal time, the official said. It has sent some 24,000 billing notices worth about $41.4 million and received about $21.5 million in payments so far, according to data provided by the State Department official. It had received approximately 25,700 promissory notes as of last week.
Though some Americans had raised concerns about the pricing of return flights, the official said the State Department did not set or control the prices, does not have authority to do so and that private carriers who did determine the bills stepped up to offer commercial rescue charters under extraordinary circumstances from difficult locations.
These are not business as usual commercial flights during normal times, and they cost significantly more to operate, the official said. Financial risk assumed by the airline and the fact that one leg of the planes journey would be without passengers are factors that could drive up the cost, the official said.
Airline executives have said the last-minute nature of the flights and routes through places where they may not usually fly leaves them with little time to negotiate prices and contract with vendors who load baggage, clean aircrafts, and the like.
Latam, the airline that flew Beg and several other Texans interviewed by the Texas Tribune, did not answer questions before publication.
Texans who received the bills said its the latest episode in a disorganized government effort to retrieve citizens stranded abroad. The State Department warned Americans to avoid all international travel on March 19, several days after the Peruvian borders were sealed.
President Donald Trump initially seemed to blame the tourists for being stuck in Peru, and some said they felt abandoned as other nations came to retrieve their citizens. Beg and others holed up in hotels or hostels, traded information and worried about those who were missing work or running low on medicine as the days ticked by. Armed officers patrolled the streets, and the Americans were instructed to only leave to go to make essential visits, like to get food or medical care.
Nine days after the border closed, Beg saw an email from the U.S. embassy at 6 a.m. It said a flight from Cusco to Miami was scheduled for that morning and that she should be outside the airport in two and a half hours.
She walked 2 miles to get there, with a half-dozen other Americans including an elderly man who had been cutting his pills in half each day to make them last, Beg said.
You're just in such a desperate state to get out. Youre like: If I miss this flight, will I be able to get another one? she said.
Jana Miller, a 34-year-old from Richardson, found temporary housing at a hostel in Peru when the borders closed and after failing to find any available flights out of the country, she resigned herself to staying and waiting out the lockdown.
But on March 25, a woman Miller befriended at the hostel another Texas resident was notified there was a government-chartered flight out. She raced to the airport walking four miles before dawn to get there and told Miller to follow and see if she could get on the flight. She did.
Miller said just a bag of chips was served on the roughly 8-hour flight, which made a stop in Lima. She ate a foot and a half worth of Subway sandwiches after landing and spent the night in the Miami airport waiting for a morning flight to Dallas.
She was prepared to pay but expected the bill would be for a reasonable amount, she said.
Flights were averaging, like $350. And so my thought was: This is a one way ticket. Surely it's not going to be so extravagant that it's going to be unmanageable, she recalled.
When a bill for $1,300 arrived seven months later, she sent a photo of it to her coworkers and jokingly told her roommate shed be eating a lot of Ramen noodles in the days ahead. Her coworkers surprised her by pooling together enough money to pay it off.
Jonathan Du, a student at the University of Texas at Austins LBJ School of Public Affairs, said the repatriation process could have been handled better and that the confusion over the bills was a case study in government bureaucracy and the effect of the coronavirus.
He reached out to the State Department to get answers when he returned, worried that the bill would get lost in the mail and go into default and leave him with interest payments or unable to renew his passport. He never got an email back from the department, he said. He eventually spoke to an official on the phone in October after initially only reaching a voicemail and gave them his credit card information.
The State Department official said the agency is processing an unprecedented volume of bills and that its website notes there are a huge number of emails due to the large-scale nature of the repatriation efforts.
But Du said he can't imagine what it's like for people unable to pay thousands of dollars right away, or who "might have missed their bill or aren't at the same address anymore or just don't even know it's coming.
That might have happened to Lauren McKinney, a junior at the University of Texas at Austin. She thinks her bill was sent to her old apartment because her sister who was in Peru volunteering before becoming stranded with McKinney already got one for around $1,300. She has requested that a bill be sent to her virtually and is hoping to work out a payment plan with the government as she doesnt have the ability to pay that amount of money. Her sisters bill is due in mid-November, McKinney said.
I was hoping since there's a pandemic still going on and people are still asking for stimulus checks... Not that this would be waived, but it just seems a little odd that it's so clear that so many Americans are struggling financially currently, and this is the time they chose to send the bill, she said.
Disclosure: University of Texas at Austin and University of Texas at Austin - LBJ School of Public Affairs have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered an update on California's response to coronavirus, including many counties moving back to the most restrictive tier and the announcement of a potential curfew. You can read highlights below or watch the full video above.
California's daily COVID-19 cases have doubled in the last 10 days, the fastest increase seen in the state since the start of the pandemic. A slide in Newsom's presentation read, "We are sounding the alarm."
The highest rate seen previously was in June, when there was a one-week 39.2% increase between Nov. 1 and Nov. 7, there was a 51.3% increase.
AN "EMERGENCY BRAKE" ON REOPENING; STATE CURFEW UNDER CONSIDERATION
There were previously 13 counties in the most restrictive purple tier there are now 41 of the state's 58 counties in purple. This includes all of Southern California, though L.A. County was still in purple before this announcement. There are 11 counties remaining in red, 4 in orange, and 2 in the lowest yellow tier.
Ghaly said that, hopefully, rates will start coming down by the end of December and forward movement on reopening can begin again.
Newsom announced that the state is "pulling an emergency brake" as part of the state's reopening blueprint, and they are now tightening restrictions.
The governor said that a statewide curfew is also under consideration. He is looking at curfew strategies from other countries, states, and cities.
Counties will now move back into a more restrictive reopening tier after 1 week of data that doesn't meet standards for being in a lower tier, rather than 2 weeks.
Some counties are set to move multiple tiers backwards at one time.
Counties that move back have to make changes to businesses/industries in a 24-hour period instead of after three days as has been the practice previously. Enforcement will be phased in.
Due to the urgency, Newsom said, changes are being announced today rather than waiting for California Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly's weekly Tuesday press conference. The state will also assess tiers for different counties again mid-week.
Ghaly said that the reason for this shift is that the state's health care system is coming under stress. He expressed the importance of keeping transmission low to prevent flooding the system, as well as the importance of keeping health care workers safe during the winter as cases increase.
More updates on restrictions will be coming in "real-time" going forward, rather than waiting for Newsom's Monday press conferences and Dr. Ghaly's Tuesday press conferences, Newsom said.
CALIFORNIA'S PREPARATION FOR THIS SURGE, FOR THE VACCINE
There are 11 health care surge facilities throughout the state, Newsom said. There is also the abiliity to set up more within 24-96 hours, with a total capacity if needed of 1,872 beds. The first of those surge facilities being put into use is in Imperial County.
Newsom expressed optimism about the vaccine, noting that it moves the response to COVID-19 "from a marathon to a sprint." The state is planning for safe, equitable, and transparent distribution of COVID-19 vaccine, as well as working on preparing for unknowns. They've also set up expert committees on safety and distribution. Newsom noted that one of those experts, as well as other Californians, have joined President-Elect Joe Biden's national team.
California has already been working with both Pfizer and Moderna ahead of the release of their vaccines. Some of the timelines are behind schedule, according to Newsom, but the effectiveness of those vaccines is significantly higher than some preliminary projections.
The state has an inventory of 180 million N95 masks, as well as 342 million surgical masks, along with a stockpile of other personal protective equipment (PPE).
HOW TO KEEP TRANSMISSION LOW
Ghaly stressed the importance of wearing a mask while in public. He noted that, when gathering with people you don't live with in any setting, transmission can be caused by lowering your mask for any reason.
The state has been tracking "household transmission," which is where someone transmits COVID-19 to others in their home, potentially due to working outside the household. Between a third and a half of family members get infected. He said this was something to take particular note of if you live with someone who is older or more vulnerable to COVID-19, even if you're asymptomatic.
The state put out guidance for gatherings last week. Ghaly emphasized that:
Ghaly also talked about the travel advisory issued last week. It is not a ban, but the state is discouraging non-essential out of state travel.
For those that do travel out-of-state (or have guests from out-of-state), California is asking them to do a 14-day self-quarantine after returning to the state (or after their guests leave). This is especially true when traveling to places with a higher rate of transmission, including in the middle of the country. Ghaly encouraged Californians to stay local, perhaps keeping travel within a two-to-three-hour drive.
The state plans to issue additional guidance on wearing a mask and other ways people can protect themselves and others as more activity moves from outside to inside as the weather gets colder.
LATEST COVID-19 CASE NUMBERS
There were 9,890 new COVID-19-positive cases in the most recent reporting period the seven-day average is 8,198 cases.
There is a 4.6% positivity rate over the past 14 days, up 1.4% in those two weeks the 7-day rate is 5%. This compares with a national rate of 9.8%. But, Newsom said, the rate of increase is still alarming.
There has been a 48% increase in COVID-19-positive hospitalizations over the past 14 days. There are currently 3,852 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in California, which makes up 5% of the state's capacity. He noted that there are other states where more than 50% of the state's hospital capacity is being used by COVID-19 patients.
There has been a 38.8% increase in COVID-19-positive admissions to ICU beds in the past 14 days. They occupy 13% of the state's ICU beds, with 20,707 ventilators still available.
The state is currently at an average of 164,345 COVID-19 tests being conducted per day. There were 202,000 tests conducted in the most recent reporting period.
NEWSOM APOLOGIZES FOR GOING TO FRIEND'S BIRTHDAY PARTY AT RESTAURANT
Ahead of questions from reporters, Newsom apologized for going to a friend's 50th birthday party. It was outdoors at the French Laundry restaurant in Napa, which was in the orange restriction tier. He gathered with a number of other couples.
The event started at 4 p.m., but Newsom said that he arrived a little late at 4:30 p.m.
"As soon as I sat down at the larger table, I realized it was a little larger group than I had anticipated. And I made a bad mistake," Newsom said. "Instead of sitting down, I should have stood up, and walked back, got in my car, and drove back to my house."
While it may have been OK under the county guidelines, Newsom said, he knows it wasn't in the spirit of where the state is at with COVID-19. He said that he needs to practice what he preaches, and added that he's been at three dinners outside the household since the pandemic began. Two were with just his wife this was the first with those from other households, Newsom said.
JANUARY BUDGET: CALIFORNIA REVENUE HIGHER THAN EXPECTED
The state has taken in $11.4 billion more in revenue than expected, and that in the January budget proposal, Newsom said that supporting California's businesses will be a top priority. Newsom said that he will be working with the new Biden administration and Congress on a new stimulus to support both individuals and small businesses.
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Airbnb filed for an initial public offering on Monday, released its prospectus, and indicated it will trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol ABNB.
The prospectus gives a deep look at Airbnbs business, particularly just how hard the platform has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic. As part of the filing, Airbnb says its business will continue to be affected by people scaling back travel as the virus continues to spread. Under risk factors, the company said the pandemic and the impact of actions to mitigate the Covid-19 pandemic have materially adversely impacted and will continue to materially adversely impact our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
The company has seen annual net losses every year since its launch and says it may not be able to achieve profitability. It went from a net loss of $70 million in 2017 to a net loss of $674.3 million in 2019, on revenue of $4.81 billion. For the nine months ending on September 30th, it saw a net loss of $696.9 million on revenue of $2.52 billion, compared to a loss of $322.8 billion for the same period last year.
So far in 2020, Airbnb has sold $17.9 billion in gross bookings, a drop of 39 percent from the year prior.
Our revenue growth rate has slowed, and we expect it to continue to slow in the future, the company said.
Last quarter, Airbnb had revenues of $1.34 billion, down 19 percent from $1.65 billion in revenue in the year-ago quarter. But it reported $219 million in profit for the third quarter, as its business began to bounce back from the effects of the pandemic travel slowdown.
In early 2020, as COVID-19 disrupted travel across the world, Airbnbs business declined significantly, according to the prospectus. But within two months, our business model started to rebound even with limited international travel, demonstrating its resilience. People wanted to get out of their homes, the company added, but didnt want to stay in hotels. Its domestic travel rebounded quickly and was affected by the number of people opting to work remotely from an Airbnb rather than their homes.
We believe that the lines between travel and living are blurring, and the global pandemic has accelerated the ability to live anywhere, the company said.
Airbnb had previously planned to go public in August even though it was in the midst of pandemic-related cancellations, which saw its valuation drop from its 2017 high of $31 billion to around $18 billion. In May, the company laid off about 25 percent of its staff or about 1,900 people. Executive salaries were also reduced for a temporary six-month span.
Also under its risk factors, the company noted that its business model relies on hosts, the homeowners who use the platform to rent their properties. If we fail to retain existing hosts or add new hosts, or if hosts fail to provide high-quality stays and experiences, our business, results of operations, and financial condition would be materially adversely affected, Airbnb said, adding that further decline or disruption in travel and hospitality or other economic downturn would materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
WASHINGTON In recent months, churches in California and Nevada asked the Supreme Court to lift government restrictions on attendance at religious services meant to address the coronavirus pandemic. The churches lost.
The vote in both cases was 5 to 4, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joining what was then the courts four-member liberal wing. One of those liberals, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, died in September. Her successor, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, joined the court last month.
It will not take long to assess the significance of that switch.
On Thursday, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn filed an emergency application asking the Supreme Court to lift restrictions imposed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York. The case is broadly similar to the earlier ones. The outcome, even as the pandemic is worsening, may be quite different.
The general question in all of the cases is whether government officials or judges should calibrate responses to the public health crisis.
One view, expressed by Chief Justice Roberts in a concurring opinion in the California case, is that officials charged with protecting the public should not be subject to second-guessing by an unelected federal judiciary, which lacks the background, competence and expertise to assess public health and is not accountable to the people.
A few hours after the diocese filed its application, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. delivered a slashing speech to a conservative legal group that expressed the opposite view. He had dissented in both of the earlier cases, and his speech echoed points he had made in the one from Nevada.
Whenever fundamental rights are restricted, the Supreme Court and other courts cannot close their eyes, Justice Alito said on Thursday, rejecting the view that whenever there is an emergency, executive officials have unlimited, unreviewable discretion.
The court is likely to rule on the dispute from Brooklyn in the next week or so. The case may be the first in which Justice Barretts vote changes the courts direction.
The restrictions in Brooklyn are severe. In shifting red zones, where the coronavirus risk is highest, no more than 10 people may attend church services. In slightly less dangerous orange zones, attendance is capped at 25. This applies even in churches that can seat more than 1,000 people.
The measures were prompted in large part by rising cases in Orthodox Jewish areas. But the restrictions applied to all houses of worship.
Even as he ruled against the diocese, Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the Federal District Court in Brooklyn praised it as an exemplar of community leadership that had been enforcing stricter safety protocols than the state required.
Lawyers for Mr. Cuomo agreed, telling an appeals court that the diocese has introduced laudable social-distancing and hygiene measures.
The diocese has said it intends to continue to limit attendance to 25 percent of its churches capacities and would accept other limitations, such as doing away with singing by congregants and choirs.
Judge Garaufis, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, said the case was a difficult one. But he concluded that he would defer to the governor. If the court issues an injunction and the state is correct about the acuteness of the threat currently posed by hot spot neighborhoods, the judge wrote, the result could be avoidable death on a massive scale like New Yorkers experienced in the spring.
In refusing to block the governors order while the dioceses appeal went forward, a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit drew on Chief Justice Robertss concurring opinion in the California case. Since the restrictions on churches were less severe than those on comparable secular gatherings like theaters, casinos and gyms, the majority wrote in an unsigned opinion, they did not run afoul of constitutional protections for religious freedom.
The members of the majority were Judge Raymond J. Lohier Jr., who was appointed by President Barack Obama, and Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who ordinarily sits on Federal District Court in Manhattan and who was appointed by Mr. Clinton.
Judge Michael H. Park, who was appointed by President Trump, dissented. He said Governor Cuomos order discriminated against houses of worship because it allowed businesses like liquor stores and pet shops to remain open without capacity restrictions.
In asking the Supreme Court to step in, lawyers for the diocese argued that its spacious churches were safer than many secular businesses that can open without restrictions, such as pet stores and brokers offices and banks and bodegas. An hourlong Mass, the dioceses brief said, is shorter than many trips to a supermarket or big-box store, not to mention a 9-to-5 job.
Lawyers for Mr. Cuomo said gatherings like those at churches and theaters were different from shopping trips. The states limits on mass gatherings have consistently recognized that the risk of transmitting Covid-19 is much greater at gatherings where people arrive and depart at the same time and congregate and mingle for a communal activity over an extended period of time, the governors appeals court brief said.
Judge Park, the dissenting appeals court judge, twice served as a law clerk to Justice Alito, once on the federal appeals court in Philadelphia and once on the Supreme Court. His dissent anticipated the remarks his former boss delivered on Thursday.
The pandemic, Justice Alito said, has resulted in previously unimaginable restrictions on individual liberty.
This is especially evident with respect to religious liberty, he added. It pains me to say this, but in certain quarters religious liberty is fast becoming a disfavored right.
For the second time this month, theres promising news from a COVID-19 vaccine candidate: Moderna said Monday its shots provide strong protection, a dash of hope against the grim backdrop of coronavirus surges in the U.S. and around the world.
Moderna said its vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective, according to preliminary data from the companys still ongoing study. A week ago, competitor Pfizer Inc. announced its own COVID-19 vaccine appeared similarly effective news that puts both companies on track to seek permission within weeks for emergency use in the U.S.
Dr. Stephen Hoge, Modernas president, welcomed the really important milestone but said having similar results from two different companies is whats most reassuring.
That should give us all hope that actually a vaccine is going to be able to stop this pandemic and hopefully get us back to our lives, Hoge told The Associated Press.
It wont be Moderna alone that solves this problem. Its going to require many vaccines to meet the global demand, he added.
A vaccine cant come fast enough, as virus cases topped 11 million in the U.S. over the weekend 1 million of them recorded in just the past week. The pandemic has killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide, more than 245,000 of them in the U.S.
Still, if the Food and Drug Administration allows emergency use of Modernas or Pfizers candidates, there will be limited, rationed supplies before the end of the year. Both require people to get two shots, several weeks apart. Moderna expects to have about 20 million doses, earmarked for the U.S., by the end of 2020. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech expect to have about 50 million doses globally by years end.
Modernas vaccine, created with the National Institutes of Health, is being studied in 30,000 volunteers who received either the real vaccination or a dummy shot. On Sunday, an independent monitoring board broke the code to examine 95 infections that were recorded starting two weeks after volunteers second dose and discovered all but five illnesses occurred in participants who got the placebo.
The study is continuing, and Moderna acknowledged the protection rate might change as more COVID-19 infections are detected and added to the calculations. Also, its too soon to know how long protection lasts. Both cautions apply to Pfizers vaccine as well.
But Modernas independent monitors reported some additional, promising tidbits: All 11 severe COVID-19 cases were among placebo recipients, and there were no significant safety concerns.
The main side effects were fatigue, muscle aches and injection-site pain after the vaccines second dose, at rates that Hoge characterized as more common than with flu shots but on par with others such as shingles vaccine.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts, companys vaccine is among 11 candidates in late-stage testing around the world, four of them in huge studies in the U.S.
Both Modernas shots and the Pfizer-BioNTech candidate are so-called mRNA vaccines, a brand-new technology. They arent made with the coronavirus itself, meaning theres no chance anyone could catch it from the shots. Instead, the vaccine contains a piece of genetic code that trains the immune system to recognize the spiked protein on the surface of the virus.
The strong results were a surprise. Scientists have warned for months that any COVID-19 shot may be only as good as flu vaccines, which are about 50% effective.
Another steep challenge: distributing doses that must be kept very cold. Both the Moderna and Pfizer shots are frozen but at different temperatures. Moderna announced Monday that once thawed, its doses can last longer in a refrigerator than initially thought, up to 30 days. Pfizers shots require long-term storage at ultra-cold temperatures.
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