SEOULSouth Korea appears to have cracked the code for managing the coronavirus. Its solution is straightforward, flexible and relatively easy to replicate.
The country has averaged about 77 new daily cases since early April and recently suppressed a spike in infections. Adjusting for population, that would be the equivalent of about 480 cases a day in the U.S., where new daily cases have averaged about 38,000 over the same period. Total deaths in the U.S. due to Covid-19 just surpassed 200,000.
South...
COVID-19 widespread testing is crucial to fighting the pandemic, but is there enough testing? The answer is in the positivity rates. USA TODAY
Americans have a long way to go for "herd immunity" given that only about 9% of adults in the U.S. have been exposed to COVID-19. That's according tothe largest study so far that looks for evidence of the disease in peoples' blood.
California's health secretary said Friday that there have been increases in the number of newly confirmed cases, hospital emergency department visits for COVID-19 and new hospitalizations for confirmed or suspected cases.
And in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis lifted restrictions on restaurants and other businesses in a move to reopen the states economy despite the spread of the coronavirus.
Some significant developments:
Today's numbers:The U.S. has reported more than 7million cases and 204,000 deaths,according toJohns Hopkins University data. Globally, there have been more than 32.7million cases and over 991,000 fatalities.
What we're reading:Coronavirus has exposed a secret underbelly of the travel business: Ponzi-style schemes to pay bookings.
Mapping coronavirus:Track the U.S. outbreak, state by state.
This file will be updated throughout the day. For updates in your inbox, subscribe toThe Daily Briefing newsletter.
A Superior Court judge in Guamhas determined that the Department of Public Health and Social Services did not follow the law when quarantining travelersafter multiple passengers filed legal action against the government's quarantine policy.
After hearing from people held in the facility, Superior Court of Guam Judge Elyze Iriarte determined some passengers did not quarantine voluntarily, and the department held one woman against her will.
For at least 10 days, she was confined against her will without a meaningful and prompt opportunity to be heard regarding such confinement and not advised of her right to counsel, Iriarte wrote in her decision to release the woman and her children from the government facility.
Anewly-updated quarantine policy says that everyone entering the island by land or sea is subject to a 14-day quarantine, with all passengers going to a government of Guam facility unless "the individual qualified for quarantine at an approved rental lodging or personal residence as authorizedby (Public Health)."
Jasmine Stole Weiss, Pacific Daily News
Michigans movie theaters and other venues can reopen in two weeks after nearly seven months of closure during the coronavirus pandemic, and the limit on how many people can attend funerals and other indoor events is being raised.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also issued an order Friday requiring the vast majority of students to wear masks in classrooms as of Oct. 5, and mandating that public and private schools publish information on coronavirus cases.
Indoor cinemas, performance venues, arcades, bingo halls, bowling centers, indoor climbing facilities and trampoline parks can reopen starting Oct. 9. A 10-person cap on indoor events has been revised to instead allow 20 people per 1,000 square feet or 20% of fixed seating capacity, up to a maximum of 500 people.
By the end of July, about 9 percentof American adults had been exposed to thecoronavirusthat causes COVID-19, according toa new study of dialysis patients,the largest yet looking for evidence of the disease in people's blood.
That data showsthe American public is a long way from achieving "herd immunity" having enough infections to prevent further spread of the virus.
The infection rates varied from essentially zero in some states that avoided infection by mid-summer, to more than one-third of residents in parts of New York hard-hit in the spring.
The new study,published in The Lancet, is in line with previous, smaller studies, and also showed areas with high numbers of Black and non-white Latino residents had higher infection rates than mostly white communities.
Karen Weintraub
More than 60public health experts have called onthe pharmaceutical company Pfizer not to seek approval for its coronavirus vaccine until it has followed trial participants for at least two months after their second dose, according to one of the signators.
"To be successful, the public needs to have the utmost trust in the vaccine and the science behind it," the letter said, according to Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine who posted the letter Saturday on Twitter.
The Washington Post reports that Pfizer said in a statement that it shared the writers commitment to rigorous safety standards, but did not directly respond to their request. Pfizer, along with other pharmaceutical companies, signed a pledge earlier this month not to cut corners on a coranvirus vaccine.
The letter noted that since many trial participantshave not yet received their second dose, monitoring should occur throughat least late November before an application for an Emergency Use Authorization should be considered by the Food and drug administration.
It said the submission of an application before that standard would "wouldseverely erode public trust"and "prolong the pandemic, with disastrous consequences."
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said a vaccine would be available by Election Day, Nov. 3, or sooner.
A USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins data through late Friday shows six states set records for new cases in a week while four states had a record number of deaths in a week.
New case records were set in Minnesota, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming, and also Puerto Rico. Record numbers of deaths were reported in Missouri, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.
The United States has reported 7,034,432cases and 203,789deaths as of Saturday morning.
Michael Stucka
California's health secretary said Friday that there have been increases in the number of newly confirmed cases, hospital emergency department visits for COVID-19 and new hospitalizations for confirmed or suspected cases.
Dr. Mark Ghaly says the trends appear largely attributable to the Labor Day holiday and could lead to an 89% increase in hospitalizations in the next month.
Ghaly notes the state is heading into another hot weekend, which could increase people gathering with others. He urged renewed efforts to prevent spread.
Texas A&Ms five Yell Leaders ran into an almost empty Kyle Field as Friday night crept into Saturday morning for their Midnight Yell.
Its a tradition almost 90 years old, normally held in front of more than 25,000 people before every football game. No fans were allowed this year because of the coronavirus, leaving the Yell Leaders to perform only to the schools band, their voices echoing in the cavernous space.
It was a little eerie, but I think it went well, head Yell Leader Keller Cox said through his mask moments after it ended.
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The global death toll from the new coronavirus sits just below 1 million, but without further action to slow the spread, it will likely double before a vaccine is widely available, a World Health Organization official said Friday.
Dr. Mike Ryan, head the WHOs health emergencies program, said that 2 million deaths was "not only imaginable, but sadly very likely" in the absence of increased testing, tracing, social distancing, mask wearing and other measures to slow the spread of the virus.
The time for action is now on every single aspect of this strategic approach, Ryan said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday he was lifting COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants and other businesses across Florida as he pushed to reopen the state's economy.
DeSantis also said any local government limitations affecting restaurants and other businesses would have to be justified by his administration.
Were not closing anything going forward, DeSantis said, while insisting that the state is prepared with plans in place if infections increase again.
The Phase 3 order will allow theme parks to operate at full capacity and lift any restrictions on gatherings, although the state still is recommending people avoid crowded spaces.
Bars can go beyond 50% capacity, if local governments give them the green light, DeSantis said.
John Kennedy, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Contributing: The Associated Press
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TheWest Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of 10:00 a.m., September 26,2020, there have been 541,883 total confirmatorylaboratory results received for COVID-19, with 15,158 totalcases and 332 deaths.
DHHR has confirmed the deaths of a 77-yearold male from Logan County and a 62-yearold female from Logan County. We are deeply saddened by this news, aloss to both the families and our state, said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR CabinetSecretary.
CASESPER COUNTY: Barbour(56), Berkeley (987), Boone (216), Braxton (13), Brooke (113), Cabell (791),Calhoun (25), Clay (34), Doddridge (23), Fayette (608), Gilmer (46), Grant(160), Greenbrier (126), Hampshire (106), Hancock (148), Hardy (89), Harrison(354), Jackson (259), Jefferson (429), Kanawha (2,603), Lewis (38), Lincoln(164), Logan (610), Marion (267), Marshall (172), Mason (141), McDowell (81),Mercer (412), Mineral (172), Mingo (376), Monongalia (1,992), Monroe (149),Morgan (55), Nicholas (100), Ohio (368), Pendleton (53), Pleasants (17),Pocahontas (59), Preston (153), Putnam (550), Raleigh (510), Randolph (242),Ritchie (12), Roane (49), Summers (54), Taylor (124), Tucker (23), Tyler (16),Upshur (71), Wayne (392), Webster (8), Wetzel (54), Wirt (12), Wood (362),Wyoming (114).
Pleasenote that delays may be experienced with the reporting of information from thelocal health department to DHHR. As case surveillance continues at the localhealth department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certain countymay not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individual inquestion may have crossed the state border to be tested.Suchis the case of Boone County in this report.
Pleasevisit the dashboard located at www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more information.
Free COVID-19 testing locations areavailable today in Jackson County and Monday in Boone, Cabell, Kanawha andTaylor counties:
Jackson County, September26, 12:00 PM 6:00 PM, Riverfront Park, 220 Riverfront Park, Ravenswood, WV
Boone County, September28, 1:00 PM 4:00 PM, Boone County Health Department, 213 Kenmore Drive,Danville, WV
Cabell County, September28, 9:00 AM 2:00 PM, Cabell Huntington Health Department, 703 Seventh Avenue,Huntington, WV
Kanawha County, September28, 10:00 AM 2:00 PM, Elkview Baptist Church, 1150 Main Street, Elkview, WV(flu shots offered)
Taylor County, September28, 12:00 PM 2:00 PM, First Baptist Church of Grafton, 2034 Webster Pike (USRt 119 S), Grafton, WV
Testing is available to everyone,including asymptomatic individuals. For upcoming testing locations, pleasevisit https://dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19/pages/testing.aspx.
WESTMORELAND COUNTY (KDKA) Members of the National Guard are expected to arrive today at Westmoreland Manor after an outbreak of Coronavirus cases.
It is expected that six national guard members will arrive this morning.
They will be providing assistance with testing staff and residents.
This comes after two additional employees and one contracted staff member tested positive for the virus on Saturday.
Almost 50 residents and more than 20 employees with the long term care facility have been infected.
There are 336 residents at Westmoreland Manor.
Westmoreland County Commissioners say Excela Health and the Regional Response Health Collaboration Program advised county leaders to bring in the National Guard to test patients and staff.
Were expecting them to come in and begin a more rigid surveillance testing and overseeing the precautions necessary to keep everyone safe and healthy, said Westmoreland County Commissioner Doug Chew.
At this point, no deaths have been reported at the facility.
(Photo Credit: KDKA Bryce Lutz)
Westmoreland Manor is continuing to test all staff and residents who test negative every three to seven days until its been two weeks since the most positive test result.
Westmoreland Manor has also put in a request for more personal protective equipment.
They are going through about 8,400 gowns per day.
The National Guard is expected to be there until Tuesday.
The UKs daily coronavirus death toll will rise from 34 to 100 a day in three to four weeks time, an expert on the governments Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has warned.
Infectious disease modelling expert Prof Graham Medley said there is little that can be done now to prevent daily deaths climbing to 100 but we need to make sure transmission comes down now to prevent the figure increasing further.
Medley told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: The treatments [for Covid-19] have improved, the way the virus is transmitting is going to be different, but nonetheless it is a dangerous virus and inevitably it will lead to some deaths.
He said that even if only 0.8% of infections lead to deaths, down from an estimated 1% in February and March, it still means that we are going to see deaths increase.
He projected the UK would see 100 deaths a day in three to four weeks based on the number of cases the country is seeing now (there were 6,874 new cases on Friday) a figure he said is doubling every 10 days.
In order to stop that process increasing again, then we need to make sure that that transmission comes down now, because that doubling time will carry on. The things that we do now will not stop 100 people dying a day, but they will stop that progressing much higher.
On Friday, new coronavirus restrictions were announced for Leeds, parts of Wales and more towns in the north-west, bringing the numbers affected by stricter measures across the UK to 21.3 million.
The Welsh government has announced that Cardiff, Swansea and some parts of Llanelli in south Wales will be subject to local lockdowns from this weekend. Meanwhile restrictions on household mixing were announced for Blackpool, Wigan, Stockport and Leeds.
The Welsh health minister, Vaughan Gething, said the situation was real and very serious, with coronavirus transmission driven by households mixing indoors and in pubs.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Saturday, he said: Id say we are in a comparable place to the end of February and, of course, we ended large parts of NHS activity about two weeks later, we were in full lockdown three and a bit weeks later.
Councillor Judith Blake, leader of Leeds city council, said that new lockdown restrictions may not be enough to halt the spread of the virus on their own.
We know that the restrictions themselves wont just work on their own, it has to come as part of a whole raft of measures, she told BBC Radio 4s Today programme.
The important message that we know from other areas is there is a lot of confusion, a lack of clarity, particularly in areas where there are different rules in one borough and the next-door borough has another one. This has to be a wake-up call to people.
In Paris, players are merely encouraged to take personal responsibility and respect social distancing guidelines but there are not strict rules on where they can venture or eat.
It is impossible to put a bubble around a tennis player, Montalvan said in the interview with Lquipe.
That was certainly true of the French tennis players who traveled for the tournaments in New York.
Benoit Paire, the French veteran known for both his smooth groundstrokes and active social life, tested positive just ahead of the U.S. Open. Paire, currently ranked No. 25 in mens singles, was found to have hosted a card game in his room with at least six other players, several of them from France.
Paire was barred from playing in the U.S. Open, and even though no one else tested positive, the other players who were near him had to follow more strict isolation rules even after they were eliminated and health officials eventually prohibited Kristina Mladenovic from participating in the doubles tournament.
The Paire saga has continued since the U.S. Open.
After quarantining for 14 days in New York, Paire traveled to Rome, where he tested negative but lost in the first round of the Italian Open. He then went to Hamburg, Germany, to play in the Hamburg European Open. He tested positive but medical officials allowed him to play because they determined that after 14 days an asymptomatic person was unlikely to continue to be contagious.
On Wednesday, he defaulted in the second set of his first round match against Casper Ruud. In a television interview following the match, Paire said, I cant take it anymore, Im breaking.
In Paris, a positive test would have resulted in Paires immediate elimination. Players who test positive in Paris are asked to isolate for seven days, compared with a mandatory 14-day isolation in New York.
A cluster of COVID-19 cases within Brigham and Womens Hospital rose to 28 confirmed cases among employees and patients alike on Friday, officials at the Boston hospital said.
To date, 310 employees have been tested with 19 testing positive. Fifty-four patients have been tested with 9 testing positive. This brings the total cases in the cluster to 28, the hospital said in a press release. There are more than 600 individuals connected to the cluster who are in the process of being tested.
Further information about specific cases was not available due to patient privacy.
The cluster was first identified by the hospitals Infection Control team Tuesday in two inpatient units at Braunwald Tower. The team believes the virus has been contained within those units, and officials said Friday the outbreak is not impacting other areas of the hospital.
But precisely how the coronavirus infiltrated and spread in the medical center remained unclear.
Our Infection Control team has investigated the source of the cluster through intensive contact tracing, testing, and staff interviews, the release says. Based on the information that we currently have, our Infection Control team is unable to determine whether the source of the cluster was a staff member or patient.
Still, an investigation found what the hospital considered possible contributing factors that precipitated the spread.
Many patients did not wear masks during clinical care interactions with hospital staff, and medical providers were inconsistent in their use of eye protection during encounters with patients, officials said.
Additionally, the hospital said the first patient who tested positive for coronavirus received an aerosol generating procedure prior to the positive test result, and added that a staffer, described as having mild symptoms consistent with historical seasonal allergies, continued to work.
Staff members also did not physically distance while not wearing masks as they ate, according to hospital officials.
One of the units involved in the cluster has been closed and the other has remained opened as the Infection Control team has documented a clear train of transmission, the hospital said. Both units have been or are being cleaned.
Brigham and Womens maintained its facilities are safe to visit.
The Brigham is committed to creating and maintaining a safe care environment by testing all patients admitted to the hospital, requiring staff to attest to their health daily before working, requiring all staff, patients and visitors to wear hospital-issued masks while on campus, insisting on frequent hand hygiene, frequently cleaning the environment, and enforcing appropriate physical distancing, the statement says.
On Friday, the hospital announced it is offering free COVID-19 testing for employees who have been working on its main campus since Sept. 14.
All patients (including those who have been discharged) and staff believed to have been exposed are being contacted by the Infection Control team to have testing arranged for them, the hospital said.
Staff who are symptomatic or who have tested positive for the virus have been sent home and are not permitted to return to work until they meet our systems return-to-work criteria, the hospital said.
All inpatients are now being tested for the virus as well. Patients had already, under previous protocol, been tested upon admission to the hospital and screened daily for symptoms, according to officials.
Free tests will be provided to individuals who believe they were exposed to the virus as a result of the cluster, the hospital said.
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PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) The death toll from COVID-19 in South Dakota increased by two to 218 according to the latest update from the state department of health.
There have now been 51 deaths reported in September, the deadliest month of the pandemic. Of the two new deaths reported, both victims were men. One was listed in the 70-79 age range and the other man was 80+. The victims were from Codington and Pennington counties.
On Saturday, there were 579 new coronavirus cases announced, bringing the states total positive case count to 21,133, up from Friday (20,554). There have now been 17,173 recovered cases, up from Friday (16,831).
Active cases increased to 3,742 from Friday (3,507). Thats the highest number of active cases the state has ever seen.
Current hospitalizations rose to 213, up from Friday (194). Total hospitalizations, which include only South Dakota residents, are now at 1,434 up from Friday (1,400).
Total persons tested negative is now at 165,001, up from Friday (163,393).
A total of 2,187 new persons tested was reported on Saturday.
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At the onset and throughout the pandemic, health experts have warned Americans to remain vigilant of their mental health as communities grew distanced, work became home-bound and outings became dangerous.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Minnesota has recorded a grim milestone as health officials report that over 2,000 people have died from COVID-19 during the pandemic. The state also posted an all-time high for cases reported in a day []
Traditional trick-or-treating, crowded parties and indoor haunted houses are among the activities the CDC says pose the highest risk for coronavirus transmission, and families should avoid them this year.
Years ago, when Mr. Carcia first began hiking, he said he wasnt comfortable with where my mind would go during long periods of solitude.
Over years of hikes hes walked the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail, each 2,000-odd miles he learned to live with the discomfort that comes from venturing into places where he didnt know what to expect. Thats why now, he said, Its no problem for me to be knee-deep in a river ford at 9 oclock at night, and not able to see where the trail picks up on the other side.
He had some years of wandering and some setbacks. He bummed around the West, seriously injured himself in a fall on Mount Whitney. While doing a partial hike of the Continental Divide Trail in Wyoming, he was involved in a car crash and the next day was going home on a Greyhound, battered.
The following year, in 2014, his father died of lung cancer. For weeks, Mr. Carcia slept on the floor of his fathers hospital room. Hed made the gambit we all make, that well work and make money and be able to enjoy it someday, but he didnt, he said.
Loss sharpened his resolve. He moved to New Hampshire in 2015 and started training to break the record on the two biggest challenges in the White Mountains the Grid and the Redline. I wanted to do something really big, he said.
On a recent day, he paused on a ridge to stare down the trail into a valley where he would backtrack 5.9 miles to his car, a distance he could cover in an hour if he ran. Nearing the end of the Redline, he said hes still sometimes plagued by the mental digressions everyone goes through, questions like, will he make it? And will it matter in the end?
Hiking, Mr. Carcia said, is hard, but not for the reasons people tell you its hard. Its hard because these mountains are mirrors, just like Covid is a mirror, and they force you to look at yourself. But I love that. I love getting into that underbelly and still having the grit to keep moving forward.
Instead, we are waiting to see whether people are infected organically. This takes time. The longer that trials go on, the more valuable the results. But even if a trial lasted five years, the results wouldnt account for every possible long-term, real-world condition. The process can give only a window into whats likely to happen when billions of people take the product. But do not expect a vaccine to give you 100 percent certainty of protection.
Read: America is running low on a crucial resource for COVID-19 vaccines
Still, if everyone in a population takes a vaccine that is, say, 70 percent effective, the effects add up quickly. The result is a population that is protectedand that more quickly achieves herd immunity than a population with a less effective vaccine. Occasional cases of COVID-19 might arise, but enough people will not contract the virus to prevent widespread outbreaks. When Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institutes of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, mentioned the possibility of a vaccine being 50 percent effective, he wasnt saying it as though the vaccine would be a failure. He was saying he would consider it a successan intervention worth using, and better than nothing. Though, his hope would be to start with a product thats somewhere closer to 75 percent effective.
No matter how effective the coronavirus vaccines prove to be, their overall impact will ultimately depend on how many people take them. That means how many people have access to them globally, as well as how many people consent to taking them. In a Pew Research Center poll out this week, only 21 percent of Americans surveyed said they would definitely take a vaccine if it were available now. This rate is half of what it was in May, and has decreased in step with the presidents unsubstantiated and impossible claims about a vaccine being widely available before the election. People will rightly require transparency and rigor from their politicians and public-health officials if a vaccine is to be widely trusted and used. The most valuable thing that any population can have in a pandemic is clear, accurate information. Without this, even a mythical, perfectly effective vaccine could fail to stop the pandemic.
Paging Dr. Hamblin is for informational purposes only, does not constitute medical advice, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. By submitting a letter, you are agreeing to let The Atlantic use itin part or in fulland we may edit it for length and/or clarity.
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