Many employers in Oregon are sending healthy workers in for COVID-19 testing when a coworker gets sick. Public health officials wish theyd stop.

Debbie Lamberger said its becoming a regular occurrence: Coworkers arrive in a group of cars at one of Oregon Health & Science Universitys mobile testing sites to request COVID-19 testing, all saying someone at their workplace recently tested positive. Now, their boss has directed them to the testing site.

Thats what these mobile testing sites are for, and OHSU has two: one at Portland Expo Center and one at Hillsboro Stadium.

But upon further discussion, Lamberger, who is OHSUs director of ambulatory operations, told Street Roots, shell discover the patients dont meet the criteria for testing.

Ill say, Have you been within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes? Lamberger said. As soon as I ask the question specifically, people wise up, and they know theres only one right answer if theyre going to get tested.

But, she said, patients tell her they cant return to work unless they can prove theyve tested negative for the virus.

They are often low-wage workers or people who are not covered under Oregons sick time law, Lamberger said. The law offers a week of paid sick time to employees at companies that employ 10 or more people and unpaid-but-protected sick time to workers at smaller businesses.

This means without a test to show theyre negative, they may temporarily lose their source income while they quarantine.

She gave an example of a group of workers at a small construction company she turned away because they didnt meet the criteria for testing.

It does result in hardship for all of these workers who dont have sick time when the lowest-barrier site in the state, which is us, we wont do it, Lamberger said.

Lamberger and Jessica Guernsey, Multnomah Countys deputy director of public health, agreed that in ideal circumstances, testing as many people as possible would be key to helping contain the virus.

Experts touted broadly available on-demand testing as a key component in keeping South Koreas case count low, for example. To date, the country has reported 12,460 recovered cases and just 293 deaths.

Do I agree that testing should keep everyone safe? Absolutely, Guernsey said. Is the reality on the ground consistent, given the lack of testing strategy?

Instead, public health officials are urging employers not to make testing a requirement for returning to the jobsite unless theres a known exposure at a worksite where individuals work in close proximity.

And, theyre prioritizing tests for individuals with symptoms, those with recent close exposures such as family members or coworkers who work side by side as well as individuals in high-risk groups.

We cant make employers not ask people (to get tested), Guernsey said. Were asking them to follow CDC requirements and not refer people for testing if they havent had symptoms or a recent exposure.

ZOOM+Cares chief medical officer, Erik Vanderlip, said his chain of urgent care clinics is also seeing patients who were sent in for testing at the request of their employer.

He said ZOOM+Care is actively working with employers to develop a COVID-19 detection program that will help keep their workplaces safe and productive.

But, its difficult to determine how many employers are making negative COVID-19 test results a condition of returning to work and what industries theyre in.

Employment status is not part of standard intake questions and not something Multnomah Countys health clinics are tracking, Guernsey said.

The states Bureau of Labor and Industries began tracking employment complaints related to COVID-19 at the beginning of April and released a list of 28 complaints to Street Roots.

The list didnt give specific details on the reports, but did categorize them by nature of complaint. Two, for example, were related to sick leave, five were related to disability, one to race, one to sex and one to whistleblowing.

More than half fell under the umbrella of the Oregon Occupational Health & Safety Administration.

According to Oregon OSHA spokesperson Aaron Corvin, the majority of COVID-19-related complaints his agency has received have, by and large, involved allegations of failures to follow COVID-19 restrictions including social distancing, mask wearing and other measures.

More testing is a good thing, Corvin said. Employers implementing robust testing protocols is in line with universal controls meant to address a public health crisis.

According to Lamberger, some large employers have reached out to OHSU about providing onsite testing at workplaces.

Heres the unfortunate catch-22: Weve had a number of employers reach out to us and say, Well pay if you test our employee, but we dont have the staff, Lamberger said.

Instead, OHSU has referred employers to private lab partners, and OHSU is trying to increase its staffing for tests despite reporting financial losses related to the pandemic.

According to Oregon Health Authority spokesperson Delia Hernndez, the state currently has the capacity to process 41,000 weekly tests. Last week OHSU processed about 3,200 tests.

During the week of July 6-12, less than 33,000 people in Oregon were tested for COVID-19 in Oregon. Thats 8,000 fewer than the state says it has the capacity to test.

As of Friday, 323,478 tests had been conducted statewide since the start of the pandemic.

Were doing a swab every 90 seconds, Lamberger said.

So far, local labs are reporting turnaround times for test results that fall within national guidelines.

We turn around test results within 48 to 72 hours from the point at which its collected at one of the mobile sites, OHSU spokesperson Erik Robertson told Street Roots.

Legacy has said it can get test results in two to three days.

But nationally, labs say theyre so overwhelmed with test results that theyre not getting results to patients for a week or more and that chips away at the usefulness of testing.

Multnomah County officialssay turnaround time for test results locally has varied since thepandemic began and it depends on which category a patient is in. The Department of Health and Human Services has defined three patient priority levels, with hospitalized patients and health care workers with symptoms being highest priority.

Right now, those patients are getting test results within 24 hours, Multnomah County spokesperson Kate Wilson said.

Patients in Multnomah County who fall into the second priority category those who arein long-termcare facilities with symptoms, patients older than 65 with symptoms, patients with underlying conditions with symptoms and first responders with symptoms are currentlygetting results within two days, Wilson said.

And finally,for patients in the third priority category those who are critical infrastructure workers with symptoms,individuals not in the other categories who have symptoms,health care facility workers,first respondersand individuals in communities experiencing high numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations the turnaround time is 11 to 12 days.

Wison confirmed that the county does notkeep track of the number of people who ask for tests but are turned away.

If we start testing everyone, its going to take two weeks to get tests back and then theres no point in testing, Lamberger said.

The rest is here:

Employers are requiring COVID-19 testing that workers can't get - Street Roots News

Temperature checks, like this being performed at the Bratislava-Jarovce border crossing between ... [+] Austria and Slovakia, may catch some cases of Covid-19 coronavirus infections but far from all.. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP) (Photo by JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images)

It may help determine whether you want more cowbell. But a fever is not a great way to tell if you have a Covid-19 coronavirus infection.

One problem is that you may not be hot (in a temperature sense, that is) yet still have the Covid-19 coronavirus. A study published on July 6 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) estimated that when someone gets infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2), over 50% of the time the person who gave him or her the virus did not have any symptoms when the transmission occurred. And a recently published study in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) revealed that 20% of a convenience sample of 164 patients with Covid-19 and symptoms did not happen to have a fever. So, doing the math suggests that less than 40% of people who are contagious will have a fever.

A second problem is that you may be hot (again, from a temperature sense) yet not have the Covid-19 coronavirus. A wide range of different things can cause a fever besides cowbell-deficiency. A fever can result from many other infections including the flu, hepatitis, malaria, and norovirus as well as inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or Crohns disease. A fever can occur when you are teething, assuming that you are an infant. (First, check if you are an infant. If are not an infant, yet teething, see your dentist as soon as possible.) Blood clots, particular medications, a bad sunburn, and food poisoning are other possible culprits.

Physical activity could raise your body temperature. (Photo: Getty)

Then theres the problem of being hot some of the time. Your physical activity and the temperature of the air around you can affect your body temperature. Therefore, going jogging in a sauna while wearing a parka prior to a temperature check could push up your reading.

Your body also may have natural fluctuations in temperature. A study published in the Journal Chronobiology International revealed that body temperature can vary over the day, the week, and the year. Each day, body temperature tends to be lowest between 6 and 8 am and highest between 6 and 8 pm. So, having a hot dinner or a hot dinner date may have more than one meaning. Body temperature is typically slightly colder in winter compared to the summer as well.

Other things can naturally affect your body temperature too. Just look at the study published in Biological Rhythm Research that measured the oral temperature of a woman every evening for, get this, 30 years. Her body temperature varied with her menstrual cycle, decreased as she aged, and declined significantly during menopause. Her temperature went up and down with the seasons too, peaking in August and bottoming out in FebruaryMarch.

A fourth problem is being hot but hiding it. Say you take a fever-reducing medication like Tylenol for some other reason such a headache, toothache, or hearing someone tell you how great he is during a speech. This medication could mask any fever that you may have.

Another problem is people not being able to tell that you are hot. Body temperature measurements could be wrong. As they say in real estate, location, location, location. Where you stick the thermometer can affect the temperature reading registered. If you are measuring your temperature on your knee, you dont know what you are doing. More common locations are your ear, rectum, mouth, and armpit, not necessarily sequentially and not in that order. A systematic review published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2015 showed that rectal temperatures give the most accurate readings compared to those other locations.

Of course, rectal temperature screening at say a campaign rally or a restaurant may not be the easiest thing to do logistically. Therefore, a business or organization may opt for less anal, so to speak, methods of measuring temperature. They may even utilize non-contact approaches such as thermal imaging systems and infrared thermometers because taking temperatures through touching many different people may not be the best thing to do these days.

A thermal camera checks the body temperature at Manuel Mrquez de Len airport on July 17, 2020 in ... [+] La Paz, Mexico. (Photo by Alfredo Martinez/Getty Images)

Keep in mind though such non-contact devices could vary significantly in accuracy. After all, as the saying goes, the further you get from the rectum, the less accurate things become. Plus, surprise, surprise, people may not follow directions. As I mentioned back in February for Forbes, if people need directions to toast a Pop Tart, you can imagine how they may screw up using a temperature taking device. Thats essentially the warning thats on a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website: These devices have many benefits, but they must be used properly to get accurate readings. Since an elevated temperature does not conclusively indicate a Covid-19 infection, further evaluation and diagnostic testing are needed to determine if someone has a Covid-19 infection.

All in all, temperature screening may catch some cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus. But it could miss many others. Thus, be skeptical whenever anyone tries to assure you that things are safe just because they are doing temperature and symptom screening. For example, Nina Shapiro wrote recently for Forbes about how daily temperature checks will not be enough for kids to return to school.

Remember preventing the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus requires a combination of interventions that must include social distancing. The use of temperature and symptom screening will not obviate the need to keep people more than six feet apart and to do other things such as actively disinfecting surfaces and having everyone wear masks. One intervention is never going to be enough. Christopher Walken may have said on Saturday Night Live, "I've got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell. But that didnt mean that he didnt want to hear the rest of the band as well.

See the original post here:

Why Fever, Temperature Checks Are Inaccurate Ways To Screen For Covid-19 Coronavirus - Forbes

Saturday in Utah yielded another large number of new coronavirus infections, with 760 positive test results reported. This includes a record number for Utah County where opposition to mask wearing, regarded as an essential measure for containing the COVID-19 epidemic, has made national news.

Utah County added 198 cases coming after seeing at least 150 new cases on each of the past two days, indicating that county may be taking over the distinction as the state's worst hot spot from Salt Lake County, where the rate of new infections has been slowing.

Todays climbing case count numbers are concerning for [the Utah County Health Department] and an indication of the upward trend Utah County has been experiencing, said department spokeswoman Aislynn Tolman-Hill. Health officials recommend wearing a mask when physical distancing cannot be maintained, regular hand washing, good hygiene, and staying home when you are sick.

Salt Lake County reported 289 new cases, or 38% of Utahs total, on Saturday. Previously, Utahs most populous county accounted for half of its new cases.

Among Utahns lost to the coronavirus is Gary Hatfield of Taylorsville, an 83-year-old retired chemist who who analyzed water and soil samples at the Bureau of Reclamation laboratory in Salt Lake City.

Eight deaths were reported statewide, including three in Salt Lake County, although the number of people hospitalized with the disease dipped from 198 to 185. Total deaths since the start of the pandemic is 243, with 2,014 hospitalizations.

Weber and Washington counties each reported two deaths. So far this week, Utah has lost 28 residents to COVID-19, on track to exceed the record of 31 set last week.

Utahs rolling seven-day average of new cases climbed to 617 per day with a positive rate of 10.2% of laboratory tests conducted. Of the states 33,332 case, 20,421 are considered recovered, meaning the person remained alive three weeks after the date of diagnosis.

On the testing front, 456,240 Utahns have now been tested for COVID-19, and increase of 8,434 from Friday.

Already afflicted with diabetes and Alzheimers, Hatfield succumbed on July 9 after contracting the disease at a nursing facility. He was the first case at the facility, which the family asked not be identified.

It is frustrating, said his son, Greg Hatfield. We knew that it was a matter of time until [the center] got it, but weve been really, really diligent, checking everybody as they came, not allowing anybody from the outside, anybody but workers into the facility.

The son put on two masks, a face shield, gloves and other protective equipment and went into his fathers room so the rest of his family could see Gary Hatfield over FaceTime.

He got a final goodbye with everyone, Greg Hatfield said. So that was wonderful.

The states a big place, Greg Hatfield said, and every community is different, and so to try to make everybody follow all the same rules doesnt make sense. But I fully support wearing masks. Theres so many good people out there dying from this and theres people out there who think its a hoax, which is just amazing.

Gary Hatfields oldest daughter, Karen Nowling, a registered nurse who has spent much of her career in end-of-life care, said her parents discussed with their children years ago the treatments they did and did not want to receive in their final days. Her father had said he did not want to be kept alive with a ventilator, Nowling said, and the family was comfortable with the decision to not put him on one after contracting COVID-19.

He would have been miserable in the ICU with a tube down his throat, Nowling said. He wouldnt have survived that anyway.

This story will be updated.

Read the original:

Utah reports 760 new cases and and 8 new deaths from COVID-19; Utah County emerging as new hot spot - Salt Lake Tribune

A robot introduces itself to patients in Kigali, Rwanda. The robots, used in Rwanda's treatment centers, can screen people for COVID-19 and deliver food and medication, among other tasks. The robots were donated by the United Nations Development Program and the Rwanda Ministry of ICT and Innovation. Cyril Ndegeya/Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images hide caption

In some places in the world right now, getting tested for COVID-19 remains difficult or nearly impossible. In Rwanda, you might just get tested randomly as you're going down the street.

"So whenever someone is driving a vehicle, bicycle, motorcycle or even walking, everyone is asked if you wish to get tested," says Sabin Nsanzimana, director general of the Rwanda Biomedical Center, which is the arm of the ministry of health that's in charge of tackling COVID-19. Health officials in personal protective equipment administer the test. Nsanzimana says the testing is voluntary, although some others say refusal is frowned upon.

The sample collection from a swab up the nose and filling out the contact information paperwork takes about five minutes.

"All these samples are sent that day to the lab," Nsanzimana says. "We have a big lab here in Kigali. We have also six other labs in the other provinces."

Despite being classified by the World Bank as a low-income country, and despite its limited resources, Rwanda has vowed to identify every coronavirus case. Anyone who tests positive is immediately quarantined at a dedicated COVID-19 clinic. Any contacts of that case who are deemed at high risk are also quarantined, either at a clinic or at home, until they can be tested.

Nsanzimana says health workers call or visit every potential contact of someone who tests positive.

"We really believe that doing so is important to make sure we detect and trace where the virus could be," he says.

Comprehensive contact tracing is a task that has overwhelmed countries with far more resources than Rwanda. Rwanda's per capita income is roughly $2,000 per year. Yet all testing and treatment for the virus is provided for free.

It costs the government between $50 and $100 to run a single coronavirus test, Nsanzimana says. In order to test thousands a day, Rwanda has started using a process called "pool testing." Material from 20-25 nasal swabs are all put into one vial and run through the machine. This allows them to test far more samples at once. If they get a positive result, then all the swabs that went into that initial vial are tested individually to pinpoint the person who's infected.

Nsanzimana says Rwanda's experience dealing with other infectious disease outbreaks is helping it now during the pandemic.

The country is using systems and equipment it already had in place to address HIV.

"The main machines we are using for COVID testing are the HIV machines that were (already) there," he says. "We are using the same structure, same people, same infrastructure and laboratory diagnostics, but applying it to COVID testing."

Since recording its first case in mid-March, the country of 12 million has recorded just over 1,200 cases. Ohio has a similar size population and has recently been reporting roughly 1,200 cases a day.

"Rwanda did a few things that are quite smart," says Sema Sgaier, the head of the Surgo Foundation, which has just launched a new data tool to analyze trends around COVID-19 across Africa. "One is they responded really early. They put some of the most stringent lockdowns in place compared to every other African country. In fact, we've been monitoring physical distancing data across the continent and Rwanda fares, I think, second; they've physical distanced the second most across Africa" a conclusion based on mobile phone movement data. South Africa is No. 1.

Rwanda mobilized community health care workers and police and college students to work as contact tracers. It set up national and regional command posts to track cases. It's even using human-size robots in the COVID-19 clinics to take patients' temperatures and deliver supplies.

Tolbert Nyenswah, who ran the Liberian ministry of health's response to Ebola in 2014, gives Rwanda high marks for how it has been handling COVID-19, even if at times it's heavy-handed.

"Rwanda, from all indications, is a success story for Africa," Nyenswah says. The strong leadership from President Paul Kagame, which Nyenswah says can even be authoritarian, has been effective during this crisis. Kagame demands accountability from his health ministry.

Whether the people trust or fear the government, Rwandans listen to their government and have been following the orders regarding masks, washing hands and staying home.

Nyenswah worries that the worst is yet to come in Africa with this pandemic.

"No country is out of the woods yet," he says. However, he adds that Rwanda is an example to other low-income countries that even with limited resources, this virus can be contained. "So what needs to be done is to follow the (prevention and containment) measures. Political leadership is very, very crucial. Rwanda should continue what it is doing now. And other countries should emulate Rwanda."

The rest is here:

Coronavirus Success Story: How Rwanda Is Curbing COVID-19 : Goats and Soda - NPR

The drive from Silver Lake to Malibu, up the 101, took 30 minutes on a Thursday afternoon. We drove past lettuce farms, lemon trees and a truck advertising cilantro and watercress. The trucks driver smiled, window down, face mask around chin. The 101 gave way to State Route 154, with rolling hills thick with shrub and brush, seemingly devoid of human intervention.

Before walking into the Santa Ynez Inn, a 20-room hotel in the style of a Victorian mansion, we donned our face masks. The general manager, Julio Penuela, also wore a mask while checking us in, though the guests behind us did not, standing by the front door, a good 12 feet away. We arrived shortly before the start of the daily happy hour.

Were doing it a little differently because of the pandemic, said Mr. Penuela, gesturing at the plastic wine glasses and shrink-wrapped cheese plates. Wed usually have more jewelry on display, too, but we dont want to have things that people can touch.

Before heading to wine-tasting rooms in the nearby town of Los Alamos, we walked to Dos Carlitos, a Mexican restaurant up the street. A dozen patrons sat outside, slugging margaritas and wine between scoops of chips and guacamole.

You only have to wear your mask if youre moving about, a server told us. That seemed to be the unofficial rule throughout the region. In an Uber? Mask on. Walking into a tasting room? Mask on. Sitting at a table? Mask off (one could attempt to taste wine with a mask on, but that could present some challenges).

Servers stayed valiantly masked while explaining the varietals and fielding questions. Were new at this, said Kim van der Linden of Stolpman Vineyards, which had outfitted the lawn of its Los Olivos tasting room with wrought-iron tables, chairs and umbrellas. We used to have everyone inside, standing along the bar. Obviously, you cant do that now.

Across the street, a prepaid, 90-minute, private tasting at the pinot-noir producer Dragonette came with an unanticipated bonus freedom to eat the sandwiches we bought from Panino, the deli next door, one of the many food options recommended by tasting room manager Nicholos Luis. (Most wineries generally do not allow guests to bring in outside food.)

Read more:

Vacation in the Summer of Covid-19 - The New York Times

TheWest Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR)reports as of 10:00 a.m., on July 12, 2020, there have been 206,920 totalconfirmatory laboratory results receivedfor COVID-19, with 4,207 total cases and 96 deaths.

In alignment with updated definitions fromthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the dashboard includes probablecases which are individuals that have symptoms and either serologic (antibody)or epidemiologic (e.g., a link to a confirmed case) evidence of disease, but noconfirmatory test.

CASESPER COUNTY (Case confirmed by lab test/Probable case):Barbour(19/0), Berkeley (514/19), Boone (34/0), Braxton (5/0), Brooke (25/1), Cabell(192/7), Calhoun (4/0), Clay (12/0), Fayette (79/0), Gilmer (13/0), Grant(19/1), Greenbrier (71/0), Hampshire (42/0), Hancock (39/3), Hardy (46/1),Harrison (120/0), Jackson (148/0), Jefferson (251/5), Kanawha (400/12), Lewis(22/1), Lincoln (9/0), Logan (40/0), Marion (106/3), Marshall (64/1), Mason(24/0), McDowell (9/0), Mercer (62/0), Mineral (65/2), Mingo (30/2), Monongalia(522/14), Monroe (14/1), Morgan (19/1), Nicholas (20/1), Ohio (143/0),Pendleton (15/1), Pleasants (4/1), Pocahontas (36/1), Preston (81/19), Putnam(86/1), Raleigh (75/3), Randolph (186/2), Ritchie (2/0), Roane (12/0), Summers(2/0), Taylor (23/1), Tucker (6/0), Tyler (10/0), Upshur (24/2), Wayne (123/1),Webster (1/0), Wetzel (34/0), Wirt (6/0), Wood (176/9), Wyoming (7/0).

As case surveillance continues at thelocal health department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certaincounty may not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individualin question may have crossed the state border to be tested.

Please visit thedashboard at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more detailed information.

Read the original here:

COVID-19 Daily Update 7-12-2020 - 10 AM - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

In normal times, I would feel an obligation to take part in the recent protests against police brutality. Im worried, however, that these gatherings could lead to a coronavirus outbreak. Black Americans are suffering from Covid-19 at a disproportionately high rate I dont want to endanger the very lives that this movement is seeking to protect. I have done what I can to speak out in other ways, from signing petitions to making donations and even making a Black Lives Matter sign and carrying it for a solo march around my neighborhood (which definitely attracted a lot of laughter and scorn). I feel bad for not getting out there and standing up for whats right. Is it ethical to support these protests only from a distance? Name Withheld

How do you balance political progress and public health? Many philosophers would say theres no easy moral arithmetic that would allow you to compare the two concerns. In 1965, when John Lewis, the young chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, helped lead a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., he did not consult first with his physician. Nor did he or the other protesters heed the advice of Maj. John Cloud of the Alabama state troopers, who warned them through a bullhorn that it would be detrimental to your safety to continue this march. The troopers then made sure that it would be freely swinging whips and clubs. Among the injured protesters was Lewis, whose skull was fractured. The spectacle of peaceful marchers menaced by state violence is, of course, what made the protest so powerful and effectual.

Public-health issues take on another dimension in the pandemic; to catch the virus is to gain the capacity to spread the virus. Responsible protesters this summer have worn masks and tried to maintain some distance from one another. But public safety is jeopardized when law-enforcement officials use tear gas and other irritants that cause respiratory problems, leading people to cough or to remove their masks. It is jeopardized when riot police engage in kettling, boxing protesters into confined spaces and cutting off exits.

So far, it appears that the public-health effects have been more modest than some experts feared. Massachusetts offered additional free coronavirus testing in mid-June to anyone who had recently attended a large gathering, and the results were said to be within the range of statewide numbers. New York City health officials say that they havent yet seen an uptick. It no doubt mattered that the rallies were outdoors; it may have helped that the protesters were typically moving. Luck may have played a role, too. We cant know if the story will be the same with other large protests, especially if a false sense of safety leads to less caution. Its entirely possible that some people who wouldnt otherwise have been infected will become infected and infect others; its possible that some will die.

But not protesting also has significant costs. Our country seems to be on the cusp of necessary reforms, not just in policing but in other areas where racial injustice is pervasive, and careful analysis by social scientists tells us that protests of the right sort can spur political change. We shouldnt assume that this summers political energy can be recaptured when vaccines become available. Many people believe that, at least for this generation, it is now or never.

You wonder, reasonably enough, whether it will be worth the risks. Your own contribution, by itself, is unlikely to make a significant difference either to the spread of Covid-19 or to the process of reform. But if your individual impact was all that mattered, you wouldnt do anything much in politics, including voting, where one vote rarely shifts the outcome. The right question is not: What contribution am I making? The right question is: Am I taking part in a process thats making a positive contribution over all?

Leave aside the fact that the possible gains and losses are extremely hard to model. Even if we knew the net long-term epidemiological effects of participation, on the one hand, and the net long-term effects on health of better policies, on the other, we wouldnt have captured everything important. Had no one ever paid costs in health and mortality for political change, we might still be living with slavery or Jim Crow.

The calculus is complicated in this case by the fact that the health costs of protests may end up being borne, in part, by people who didnt choose to participate who didnt choose, as protesters often have, to take an individual risk of serious injury or death for a chance at a significant advance in justice. Its further complicated by the fact that theres no bureau de change that tells you how much public health to trade for how much political equality. Rational people can disagree about the assessments they reach.

And a final point different people are going to be differently situated here. If youre going home to tend to someone in the class of the most vulnerable, you would have an individual reason to stay away in order to meet your responsibilities to that person. Absent such considerations, if you think large-scale protests are important, you can reasonably take part in them, observing all the necessary precautions and urging others to do the same.

I work for a fast-growing health care company. Recently I referred a friend of mine for an open position, and she was offered the job. After she accepted the offer, my friend told me she intends to keep her current job while also working for my company. (Because both firms allow for remote work, she feels that shell be able to balance time for each.) This arrangement of two full-time positions is clearly against company policy, which requires, among other things, disclosure and approval of all other employment. My friend intends to keep her plans a secret from both her employers. I have advised her against this decision, but she remains undeterred. Im worried about the potential fallout for my friend but also the potential that my professional reputation could be tarnished if her deception comes to light. Should I warn my employer? Name Withheld

In violating the terms of her employment, this person is taking advantage of a company that trusts employees to work unsupervised at home, in a way thats unfair to others who dont abuse the trust. But shes also letting you down: You referred her and, in some sense, vouched for her, in the expectation that she would devote her full-time attentions to her new position. No decent friend would do what shes doing. There are many ways that her deception could come to light: People from one company can talk to those at another, and company directories can increasingly be found online, anyway.

If the details were otherwise, we could discuss the tension between what you owe your employers and what you owe your friend. But given that shes recklessly forfeited the trust that friendship is based on, youd clearly be within your rights to alert your employers. Because the consequences of your doing that could be severe, though, you should offer her the choice between voluntarily ending her double-dipping and your ending it for her.

Read more here:

I Dont Want to Spread Covid-19. Can I Sit Out the Protests? - The New York Times

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the deadly pandemic sweeping through his state could help decide whether President Donald Trump gives his acceptance speech next month at the Republican National Convention to a packed crowd or to a lot of empty seats.

Florida is operating under an executive order DeSantis enacted to combat the spread of the coronavirus, which requires all big sports venues to operate at no more than 50 percent capacity, the governor's spokeswoman, Helen Aguirre Ferr, confirmed.

That includes VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, the 15,000-seat venue where Republicans intend to gather Aug. 24-27 to hold the hoopla-packed part of Trump's nomination for a second term.

Lenny Curry, Jacksonville's popular Republican mayor, said recently that the city is keeping close tabs on the crisis to see whether it's safe to have a mass gathering like the GOP convention at the end of August.

However, it's the "governor's call" on whether it's safe to lift the 50 percent mandate, Curry spokeswoman Marjorie Dennis said Monday via email. "Mayor would not have to sign off."

Aguirre Ferr didn't immediately reply when asked whether DeSantis was planning to rescind the order in time for the convention.

Florida shattered its single-day record Sunday with 15,299 new coronavirus cases, eclipsing a daily record set by New York state by 3,000.

Florida has recorded 282,435 cases and 4,380 deaths, according to an NBC News tally. And the two-week death total is up by 90 percent over the previous two weeks. There were 487 deaths June 15-28 and 927 more June 29-July 12.

Jacksonville is getting the convention because Roy Cooper, the Democratic governor of North Carolina, concerned about the spread of COVID-19, wouldn't guarantee Trump a full house at the venue in Charlotte where the renomination was supposed to have been held, saying the event should be scaled back.

In stepped DeSantis, a loyal Trump ally, with the offer to help the president and bring some much-needed tourist dollars to Florida by holding the splashiest parts of Trump's renomination in Jacksonville.

That was before Florida began breaking records for new coronavirus cases and after the governor extended his executive order mandating that large indoor gatherings remain under 50 percent capacity.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

Now DeSantis faces a difficult decision: possibly anger Trump by keeping the mandate in place or face blowback from Floridians increasingly concerned about the spread of the virus.

Let our news meet your inbox. The news and stories that matters, delivered weekday mornings.

"I wouldn't want to be on that call to Trump," said Mitch Ceasar, Florida's former Democratic Party chairman. "Florida is now the epicenter of the virus both nationally and internationally, and I say that sadly as a Florida resident."

Trump, in a recent interview, said he's willing to be "very flexible."

"We're always looking at different things," Trump said on Gray Television's "Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren."

"When we signed a few weeks ago, it looked good," the president said. "And now, all of a sudden, it's spiking up a little bit. And that's going to go down. It really depends on the timing. Look, we're very flexible."

Several people who live near the Jacksonville arena have filed a lawsuit to stop the Republican National Committee from holding the convention in their neighborhood, calling it a health risk and noting that a number of people became infected after Trump's rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, because they didn't wear masks or practice social distancing.

Curry left open the possibility of asking the RNC to move the convention out of Jacksonville "if we have "widespread community spread and the ICUs are full and hospitals can't handle it."

Susan McManus, a professor of political science at the University of South Florida, said moving the convention isn't likely, because that would be "hitting big Republican donors twice in a negative fashion."

While the concerns that the convention could become a disease incubator are very real, Florida has already lost billions of dollars because of the pandemic, she said. DeSantis has to come up with a way to keep the event in Florida while ensuring that people are safe.

"I think if Trump's people are pragmatic, and that's a big if, they have to be aware of the position the governor is in," she said. "This is the season where the tourists come in and spend money, and the state's budget has already suffered as a result of the pandemic. Florida is really in a bad place."

So the triumphant multiday extravaganza that Team Trump envisioned might have to be scaled back, featuring social distancing and mask-wearing, McManus said.

DeSantis and Trump "both have strong personalities," McManus said. "I still think there's going to have to be some give and take to make this work. An all-or-nothing solution doesn't benefit either of them."

The president wore a mask in a public setting Saturday for the first time since the crisis began. Before that, he had resisted even as other Republicans had begun wearing them.

Trump still hopes to pump up the pageantry and deliver an acceptance speech before an adoring crowd at a venue that has played host to soldout concerts by performers like Rihanna, Garth Brooks, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and others, The Associated Press reported.

But the script of the convention is already different from those of previous galas. Key events like the roll call of states to renominate the president a highlight of any convention will be conducted by proxy votes in Charlotte. And a half-dozen prominent Republican senators, at least two of whom expressed concerns about COVID-19, have already said they aren't going to the convention.

The Republican National Committee didn't respond to questions about how the arena would be retrofitted to allow for social distancing.

There has also been a proposal to move the convention to an outdoor venue, like TIAA Bank Stadium, to minimize the risk of transmission.

"This seems very unlikely because of the heat and humidity and high chance of thunderstorms in north Florida in the summer," said Aubrey Jewett, an associate professor of political science at the University of Central Florida. "In addition, while an outdoor venue is certainly safer in terms of the potential for transmitting the virus, it would probably greatly reduce the fever pitch of the event compared to the acoustics of an indoor venue."

Download the NBC News app for breaking news and alerts

And forget about a totally virtual convention.

"President Trump seems to have very little use for the idea of a totally online convention, and it would provide very little in the way of exciting the base," Jewett said.

RNC spokesman Mike Reed told the AP that the party is keeping all its options open, for now.

"The convention is still a month and a half away, so there is time to adjust and make the most appropriate decisions regarding venue options and an array of health precautions that will allow us to have a safe and exciting event for all," Reed said. "We will continue to coordinate with local leadership in Jacksonville and in Florida in the weeks ahead."

More:

COVID-19 and Florida's governor could tank Trump's renomination festivities - NBC News

The funds don't only support Lpez Aceves, a graphic designer in Mexico's southern Chiapas state -- they also go to support her five-year-old daughter and her grandmother. Never before have they found themselves without the extra help of remittances, like millions of other Mexican families.

When the money dried up, it came at the worst possible time -- Lpez Aceves' clients were also dwindling amid the pandemic and economic shutdown. "I don't have a lot of work right now," Lpez Aceves told CNN in a phone interview. "The truth is, the salary I make is not enough."

The money her mother sent had helped with food, savings, and paying for her daughter's education. With it, they "live okay," she said. But in the wake of the coronavirus, her mom can no longer afford to send money home.

Ninety-four percent of those transfers come from the US, according to a November 2018 report by the think tank Inter-American Dialogue.

"Remittances from the US are unfortunately a very important part of Mexico's economy, more for the most vulnerable part of the citizenship," Larry Rubin, President of the American Society of Mexico told CNN.

Lpez Aceves' mom lost her full-time cleaning job in March, and found herself without work for the first time in seven years. "If she didn't have some savings, she would have returned to Mexico," the daughter said. "And I was worried about myself, but also about my mother. She is alone up there with no one," she added. Her mother declined an interview with CNN.

As the pandemic swelled and lockdowns expanded, remittances have slowed back to normal rates in April and May, with nearly $2.9 billion and $3.4 billion respectively.

A global pause on remittances?

Remittances to El Salvador, for example, dropped 40% in April 2020, compared to the same month last year, according to the country's central bank.

"The ongoing economic recession caused by Covid-19 is taking a severe toll on the ability to send money home and makes it all the more vital that we shorten the time to recovery for advanced economies," said World Bank Group President David Malpass in a recent statement.

As unemployment skyrockets across Latin America, the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) is already worried about hunger in the region. "[Latin America] has seen an almost three-fold rise in the number of people requiring food assistance," WFP said in a statement at the end of June.

Lpez Aceves' mother has found a new part-time job. But she is not yet able to resume sending money home. So Lpez Aceves moved an hour away to look for work, leaving her daughter in the care of her sister, and hoping the change will help make ends meet.

"We tried to quarantine but I couldn't completely because the situation here in Mexico is different," she told CNN. "I have to go look for workto find a way to make money to help with the indispensable, which is food."

View original post here:

The world runs on remittances. Covid-19 could end that for many - CNN

The COVID-19 coronavirus crisis has wrought economic disruption on a monumental scale, contributing to a dangerous and volatile global upheaval politically, socially and geopolitically while raising deep concerns about the environment and the extending reach of technology into our lives.

World Economic Forum Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab and Thierry Malleret, Co-Founder of Monthly Barometer, explore these themes in their new book, COVID-19: The Great Reset.

The books main objective is to help us understand whats coming: it has three main chapters, offering a panoramic overview of the future landscape. The first assesses what the impact of the pandemic will be on five key macro categories: the economic, societal, geopolitical, environmental and technological factors. The second considers the effects in micro terms, on specific industries and companies. The third hypothesizes about the nature of the possible consequences at the individual level.

Last month, the World Economic Forum launched the Great Reset initiative: a commitment to jointly and urgently build the foundations of our economic and social system for a fairer, sustainable and more resilient post-COVID future. Find out more here.

Tune in at 14:00 CET later today to join in a virtual briefing about COVID-19: The Great Reset.

Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum

Dr. Thierry Malleret, Co-Founder, Monthly Barometer

Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum

Adrian Monck, Managing Director, World Economic Forum

The book can be ordered here, and you can leave a review here.

Read more:

COVID-19: The Great Reset - World Economic Forum

The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus illness COVID-19 climbed above 13 million on Tuesday, and the worlds eighth biggest economy, California, moved to again temporarily shut down higher-risk businesses such as bars and restaurants after a spike in hospitalizations.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that there is no way to return to normal for the foreseeable future and that there are no short cuts out of this pandemic, at a news conference, as the Guardian reported.

In the U.S., a growing chorus of voices lamented the tensions between President Donald Trump and his own expert advisers, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, who is increasingly being targeted by administration officials over alleged mistakes make in handling the pandemic.

Trump accused his most experienced infectious-disease expert of mistakes in a Fox News interview at the weekend, and administration officials gave the Washington Post a series of talking points outlining failures such as mixed messaging on wearing face masks.

Arne Duncan, former education secretary, said the war on science will cost lives.

The real travesty here is that there is no body count high enough for the president to actually pay attention to science, Duncan said in an interview with MSNBC. We could lose another 10,000. We could lose another 50,000. We could lose another 100,000. Nothing would compel him to listen to Dr. Fauci and others who are actually fighting to try and save lives.

See also: New York Gov. Cuomo says President Trump has put politics above public health throughout pandemic

The U.S. now has 3.39 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and at least 135,984 people have died, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University. Forty one states and territories have seen cases rise over the last 14 days, according to a New York Times tracker.

Florida is the new hot spot and Miami is the state epicenter. Florida counted more than 12,000 new cases on Monday, after more than 15,000 on Sunday. The Sunshine State has 282,427 confirmed cases and 4,276 people have died, the New York Times tracker shows.

Miami-Dade County accounts for 67,712 of those cases and 1,143 of the deaths, for a mortality rate of 42 per 100,00 people.

See: White House virus task force member says none of us lie

Carlos Migoya, chief executive of Miami-based nonprofit Jackson Health System, said Miami has about a three-week window before hitting the peak, and is missing vital equipment to cope including staff: That is a very tough three weeks, Migoya said on MSNBC. Weve already been going at it for a full four months, and our staff are very, very tired and stressed, and, of course, nervous.

See:Coronavirus slashes deal-making globally: What to expect next

Miami currently has a testing positivity rate of 25% to 28%, he said, which makes reopening schools in the fall unviable, he said. Multigenerational housing in Miami is causing young people to infect their parents and grandparents, he said, urging the public to wear face masks in public and socially distance.

Were finding an awful lot of people that are extremely aggressive and against complying to those environments that is not really understandable at all, he said.

That message was echoed by Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimnez: Unless we change behavior, you can do all the tests in the world you want, we can get all the contact tracers in the world we want, its not going to make a difference, said Gimnez. We have to change our behavior.

Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, agreed. Redfield said at a Monday news conference that if every American agreed to wear a mask, over the next six weeks we could drive (the virus) into the ground.

There are now 13.2 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 world-wide and at least 574,615 people have died, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University. At least 7.3 million people have recovered.

Brazil is second to the U.S. with 1.88 million cases and 72,833 deaths.

India is third measured by cases at 906,752, followed by Russia with 738,787 and Peru with 330,123.

The U.K. has 45,053 fatalities, the highest in Europe and third highest in the world. China, where the illness was first reported late last year, has 85,117 cases and 4,641 fatalities.

France will celebrate this years Bastille Day national holiday, not with the usual dignitaries attending a military parade but with a smaller ceremony honoring all of the front-line workers in the pandemic, from health care staff to supermarket workers and postal workers.

See also: Rich countries may try to stockpile coronavirus vaccine, according to global health partnership founded by Bill and Melinda Gates

Post-it maker 3M Co. MMM, +1.84% is developing a rapid diagnostic test for COVID-19 that would be used at the point of care, MarketWatchs Jaimy Lee reported. The test, which is being jointly developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been selected by the National Institutes of Health for commercial support and has received $500,000 from the U.S. government.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. RIGL, +98.38% will test a drug used to treat an autoimmune disorder in a clinical trial in the U.K. as a treatment for COVID-19 pneumonia. The Imperial College London will operate the open-label, controlled trial for Tavalisse, which received Food and Drug Administration approval for chronic immune thrombocytopenia in 2018.

Patients will receive Tavalisse, the chemotherapy ruxolitinib, or the standard of care, with a goal of understanding whether the drug can prevent the progression of mild or moderate COVID-19 pneumonia to more severe disease.

Shares of Moderna Inc. MRNA, +4.70% soared on the news that the company, which is developing a COVID-19 vaccine, will join the Nasdaq-100 Index before the market opens on July 20.

Read now:Race for a COVID-19 vaccine has drugmakers scaling up manufacturing before one is developed

The second--quarter earnings season kicked off early Tuesday with earnings from three of the biggest U.S. banks and Delta Air. Bank earnings predictably showed gains from trading volatile markets and fees from underwriting debt and equity deals offsetting weakness in consumer banking and a big boost in loan loss provisions.

See:S&P 500 earnings set to plunge as the coronavirus batters all sectors with Wall Street counting on a bounce that may not come

JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, +0.15% and Citigroup Inc. C, -3.41% managed to beat analyst estimates, even as profits fell, while Wells Fargo swung to a wider-than-expected loss, its first in more than a decade.

Wells Chief Executive Charles Scharf said the bankwas extremely disappointed in its results and need to cut its dividend.

Our view of the length and severity of the economic downturn has deteriorated considerably from the assumptions used last quarter, which drove the $8.4 billion addition to our credit loss reserve in the second quarter, he said.

Delta DAL, -2.14% also reported a bigger-than-expected loss as the pandemic grounded flights and recession destroyed demand.

Elsewhere, companies continued to update guidance and analysts continued to adjust models for the new COVID world.

Heres the latest news about companies and the pandemic:

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.s BBBY, +9.45% June same-store sales were positive for reopened stores and digital channels. Cash flow during June was also positive. Nearly all stores have reopened, following closures because of the pandemic. Separately, the company believes there is between $350 million to $450 million it could get from asset sales and the plan to reduce up to $1 billion of inventory at retail is slightly more than halfway complete.

Analyst James Hardiman at Wedbush cut his price target on Carnival Corp. CCL, -1.89% to $20 from $29 while reiterating his neutral rating, in the wake of the cruise operators announcements last week that three of its AIDA Cruises will start resailingin August, and that cumulative advance bookings for 2021 remained within historical ranges, although at lower prices. While a legitimate target for the restart of the AIDA brand is encouraging, we cant help but think that we remain a far distance away from operations resuming in the United States given a resurgence in COVID-19 cases as well as halted (in some instances reversed) economic reopenings, Hardiman wrote in a note to clients.

Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL, -2.14% reported second-quarter losses that were wider than expected, although revenue beat lowered expectations. Passenger revenue for the quarter fell 94% to $678 million, and cargo revenue was down 42% to $108 million. Given the combined effects of the pandemic and associated financial impact on the global economy, we continue to believe that it will be more than two years before we see a sustainable recovery, said Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian, emphasizing the staggering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business. Delta ended the quarter with $15.7 billion in liquidity, and reduced its daily cash burn in June by 70% compared to late March, down to an average of $27 million. The airline has received $5.4 billion in grant funds and unsecured loans through the CARES Act, which will be paid in installments through July 2020. Maturities on $1.3 billion in borrowings on revolving credit facilities have been extended to 2022 from 2021. Delta has taken additional sanitation steps in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, has limited load factor at 60% and is blocking off middle seats. The company has provided more than $2.2 billion in cash refunds in 2020. Delta is positioning itself to be a smaller airline over the next couple of years, retiring MD-88 and other planes, and reducing head count through early retirement and other programs. The company is also accelerating airport construction projects in New Yorks LaGuardia Airport, in Los Angeles and other cities. At the end of the quarter, the company had total debt and finance lease obligations of $24.6 billion. Delta took a write down of $1.1 billion on its investment in LATAM Airlines and a write down of $770 million on its investment in AeroMexico after those companies losses and bankruptcy filings. The company took a $200 million write down in its investment in Virgin Atlantic, a $200 million charge.

BS analyst Eric Sheridan downgraded Netflix Inc.s NFLX, -1.39% stock to neutral from buy, writing that while the company looks poised to report a strong June quarter as it continued to benefit from COVID-19 lockdowns, investors seem to have already priced in these benefits to Netflixs shares. Unlike prior periods over the last few months (with debates centered around competition with Disney, balance sheet vs. free-cash flow generation, content costs/competition), investor fears seem to have disappeared and the current stock price increasingly reflects many of the long-term business moat dynamics including sustained growth in users/revs and steady state margin expansion, Sheridan said in his note to clients. He sees tough subscriber comparisons ahead for the company next year and wrote that he would rather be constructive at levels when a mix of potential subscriber volatility, FCF dynamics & competition are better reflected in the share price. Sheridan kept his $535 price target unchanged.

Tesla Inc. TSLA, +1.67% extended their seemingly unstoppable rally, after Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter raised his price target on the stock to $2322 from $939, writing of faster-than-expected share gains and big opportunities in software. Though Tesla shares have rocketed nearly 260% on the year and the stocks valuation is 88 times higher than it was after its 2010 initial public offering, Potter said that resoundingly his conclusion is to stick with the stock. While deliveries are a key driver of our increased near-term estimates, software is the biggest driver of our increased DCF-based price target, he wrote in a late Monday note to clients. Tesla has noted the possibility for 30%+ gross margins if/when more customers opt-in for purchasing the companys full self-driving (FSD) software. That could help Tesla record operating margins in the mid-20s by the end of Potters 20-year forecast period, even if only half of customers go for the full self-driving software. Thanks to the high-margin nature of the FSD package, we think that by the 2030s, Tesla could conceivably be selling vehicles at cost - or even below cost - while still achieving higher operating margins, he wrote. Tesla shares have rallied even though its main California plant was closed for much of the recent quarter because of the pandemic.

See:Teslas earnings on tap next week: Will a loss end its blowout stock rally?

The Travelers Cos. Inc. TRV, +2.66% expects to report a net loss per share of 16 cents for the second quarter, weighed down by a high level of catastrophe losses, mostly stemming from severe storms in the U.S., along with claims related to social unrest. The New York-based insurer is expecting net investment income of $268 million pretax, or $251 million after-tax, including $511 million from its fixed income portfolio and a loss of $234 million in the non-fixed income portfolio. That is equal to $438 million after-tax and $180 million after-tax respectively. The company is expecting the pandemic to have a modest impact on its underwriting result. Insurance losses directly caused by the pandemic are expected to come to $114 million pretax. The company will report second-quarter earnings on July 23.

Wells Fargo & Co. tumbled 6.5%, enough to pace the large-capitalization banking sectors decliners, after the bank reported second-quarter results that missed expectations. The stock is on track to suffer the biggest one-day post-earnings decline since it tumbled 8.4% on Oct. 17, 2011, after third-quarter 2011 results were released.

Additional reporting by Tim Rostan

Link:

Coronavirus update: Global cases of COVID-19 climb above 13 million as California, Hong Kong and India reimpose restrictions on movement - MarketWatch

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to surge in parts of the US, some companies have moved forward with plans to let their employees re-enter the office after months of working from home.

In the absence of federal guidelines around best practices, office managers will probably need to rely on an abundance of caution. This may turn offices into ghost towns of their former selves, with gatherings by the water cooler, big meetings and buzzing shared spaces disappearing for the foreseeable future.

If your office decides to move forward with reopening, you may start to hear the phrase de-densifying in conversations about how to do so safely. The term, which many schools have used when laying out plans for reopening in the fall, refers to restricting the number of people who have access to a given space at any one time, in order to ensure social distancing.

For offices, that could mean phased reopenings. It is important to note that not all employees will return to a location at the same time, said JPMorgan Chase in a May memo to employees, obtained by the Guardian. It will happen in waves over a period of time, with business leaders prioritizing who returns when.

It could also mean major changes to the physical layout of your office. The 100-person tech firm Submittable reports experimenting with different seating arrangements to avoid clustered workspaces. It is also planning staggered workdays, with teams rotating between designated days in the office.

With health officials predicting another wave of the virus in the fall, this staggered standard will likely continue over the next six to twelve months.

While big office meetings may not officially be a thing of the past yet, they most certainly arent a thing of the immediate future, said Asta So, Head of People at Submittable. We may have smaller groups in large meeting rooms, while everyones wearing a face mask. The virtual meetings and social gatherings that have developed over the last two months will probably remain the norm.

Stations for personal protective equipment, like hand sanitizer, masks and gloves, will be new permanent fixtures in offices, placed at entrances, exits and other strategic locations. Forward-thinking businesses may have stations for you to recycle your masks and gloves as well. Branded, individual back-to-work safety kits will now be as common as zip drives and pens: companies like iPromo, a Chicago-based bulk supplier, have been selling personal kits to offices by the thousands. Some of these include sanitizer, masks, gloves, tissues, soap, a stylus pen for use on high-touch surfaces like printers and elevator buttons, and brass antimicrobial hook-style keys that can open door handles.

Even though we now believe the virus is not as easily transmitted via contact with contaminated surfaces, workers will probably need to get into the habit of wiping down their desk and other office supplies. Most janitorial services cant keep up with the now-constant disinfectant requirements of things like elevator buttons and faucet buttons.

We might add wiping high-touch surfaces to office task lists, So said. And well be asking employees to make choices that avoid touching potentially contaminated surfaces, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

No-touch infrared thermometers have already been spotted in certain businesses, including airports and restaurants. Even though experts have said these tools have limitations for curbing the spread of Covid-19, including reporting false positives and user error, workers can still expect these to make more frequent appearances in the office.

The state of Connecticut, for example, announced in May that it would distribute 50,000 infrared thermometers to small businesses and non-profits. Some businesses may even spring for a body thermal scanner at office entrances, like Amazon has done at its warehouses. High-tech fever detectors are coming, said Friedman.

A recent survey of employers conducted by Willis Towers Watson found that almost half of companies surveyed (47%) are enhancing healthcare benefits for employees in the face of Covid-19. Forty-five per cent of respondents reported expanding wellbeing coverage, and 33% reported planning changes to paid time off policies. While coverage of Covid-19 treatment for employees isnt federally mandated, new legislation, effective 18 March, required group health plans to cover testing and related services without cost sharing.

At the same time, experts predict that health insurance premiums for employers will rise in 2021 anywhere from 4% to 40%, based on recent filings from health insurance companies with the District of Columbias department of insurance, securities and banking. A report from Covered California predicted employers no longer being able to offer affordable coverage, or dramatically shifting costs to employees.

Read more from the original source:

The future of workplaces: how Covid-19 will transform office life - The Guardian

FORT MYERS

As of Tuesday, much of Southwest Florida is red if you look at the Department of Healths COVID-19 map, marking much of the area as a hot spot. But what does that mean?

You hear the word hotspot all the time, and all that means is a particular zip code has registered 300 cases or more.

In the zipcode 33916, more than 700 cases have been recorded, which is enough to classify the area zip code as a hotspot.

But across Colonial Blvd, there are only 130 cases.

WINK News looked at the top three zip codes in our local counties and Charlotte County has no recorded hotspots. In Lee County, the zip codes include 33905, which is in Tice and Buckingham has 772 cases. The zip code 33916 has 706 cases, and 34135 in Bonita Springs has 620 cases.

In Collier County, the zipcode 34142 in Immokalee has recorded 1,744 cases.

34116 in Golden Gate has 847 cases, and 34120 in the Immokalee and Orangetree neighborhoods have 617 cases.

We asked Kaiser Family Foundation who tracks cases across the country and what these numbers mean for all of us.

That clearly appears to be community spread in Florida and we are showing a positivity rate close to 19%, once you were that high there is clear evidence of community spread and this is not simply just about an increase in testing, said Jennifer Tolbert, Director of State Health Reform at the Kaiser Family Foundations.

As cases continue to spike in Florida, scientists and health experts continue to stress the importance of wearing a facemask, because the moment you put one on, you are reducing your chance of inhaling contagious particles.

To view the number of cases in your zip code click here.

Read the original post:

COVID-19 hotspots have formed in counties across SWFL - Wink News

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced a statewide ban on indoor dining at bars and restaurants at a press conference in Portland on March 16. Nearly four months later, with COVID-19 cases on the rise after a phased-in economic reopening, she announced new restrictions including a 10-person limit on social gatherings. Gillian Flaccus/AP hide caption

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced a statewide ban on indoor dining at bars and restaurants at a press conference in Portland on March 16. Nearly four months later, with COVID-19 cases on the rise after a phased-in economic reopening, she announced new restrictions including a 10-person limit on social gatherings.

As coronavirus cases continue to climb in the U.S., two governors on opposite sides of the country took a similar step on Monday: reducing the number of people allowed at social gatherings, among other restrictions.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced that indoor social get-togethers of more than 10 people will be prohibited starting Wednesday.

Gatherings of up to 25 people were allowed in Phase One of the state's reopening plan, and indoor limits increased to 50 for counties that reached Phase Two.

Brown also extended the statewide face covering requirement, which took effect earlier this month, to outdoor public spaces where six feet of distance cannot be maintained.

Oregon recorded 332 new cases on Sunday, bringing its cumulative total to 12,170. Brown said on Monday the state reported more cases in the past week than the entire month of May.

"Today we are sounding the alarm because we are at risk of letting the virus spiral out of control," she said. "The question now is whether Oregon will be the next New York or the next Texas."

In West Virginia, Gov. Jim Justice imposed several new statewide restrictions, including reducing the social gathering limit from 100 to 25 people, effective Tuesday. The same executive order also closes all fairs, festivals and similar events, and prohibits both indoor and outdoor concerts.

Justice also ordered all bars closed for ten days in Monongalia County, which has seen a significant uptick in infections and had 340 active cases as of Monday.

"We want everyone to know this is not playtime stuff," Justice told viewers at a daily briefing. "We now, in West Virginia, have 1,338 active cases. We have grown 206 active cases since I saw you the last time on Friday."

Governors in both states stressed that the new limits apply only to social gatherings.

Justice said the new order does not cover any activity, business or entity designated as essential, such as religious services or group conferences. Attendees of such events must practice social distancing based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, he said.

And Brown said Oregon's new rule would not change the operation of businesses or churches "at this time." She added failure to comply will lead to more outbreaks, as well as more restrictive closures.

"We need to do absolutely everything we can to reduce transmission in ways that do not require us to close down businesses again," Brown said. "The proof here will be in the numbers. Either people will adhere to this requirement and be a positive force for stopping COVID-19, or I will be forced to take more restrictive measures."

Governors across the country are reimposing certain restrictions to combat the spread of the virus, though few have officially rolled back limits on social gatherings.

Many of the latest measures have been aimed at bars and other indoor establishments.

On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the statewide closure of all bars and indoor operations of several types of businesses. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott closed bars and tightened business restrictions in June, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also previously ordered bars to close. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster imposed an 11 p.m. curfew on bars and restaurants last week.

Read the original:

Oregon And West Virginia Will Shrink Social Gatherings To Combat COVID-19 - NPR

New York City had its first 24-hour period since March without a death from the coronavirus on Saturday. Here, people dine outdoors on July Fourth in Manhattan's Little Italy. Byron Smith/Getty Images hide caption

New York City had its first 24-hour period since March without a death from the coronavirus on Saturday. Here, people dine outdoors on July Fourth in Manhattan's Little Italy.

For the first time in months, there was a 24-hour period in which no one in New York City died of the coronavirus.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reported zero deaths on Saturday, but that number could change as death data can lag and new deaths could be confirmed retroactively at any point. The city's first confirmed coronavirus death was March 11.

Mayor Bill de Blasio called the milestone a statement about "how this city fights back and people do not ever give in."

"It's something that should make us hopeful, but it's very hard to take a victory lap because we know we have so much more ahead. This disease is far from beaten," de Blasio said during a news conference Monday. "And we look around the country and we look at what so many other Americans are going through and so many other states and cities hurting so bad right now. So no one can celebrate, but we can at least take a moment to appreciate that every one of you did so much to get us to this point."

New York City has had 18,708 confirmed deaths due to COVID-19 as well as 4,615 probable deaths.

"Twenty-four hours where no one died," the mayor said. "Let's have many more days like that."

De Blasio also called upon President Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act to speed up the processing of coronavirus tests:

"Mr. President, all you have to do is say, 'I am now invoking the Defense Production Act to expand lab capacity in the United States of America, to make sure we have everything we need to get tests to people quickly.' You can do that with the stroke of a pen. We need it not only here in New York; we need it all over this country."

Trump previously invoked the act in March to boost production of masks and ventilators.

"The federal government has to step up now, because now it's becoming a national crisis," the mayor said. "We used to have almost no testing. Now we have more testing, but if you can't get the results in real time, it doesn't help you enough."

Amid the huge reduction of coronavirus cases in the city, there is one worrying trend: a rising infection rate among young adults, particularly 20- to 29-year-olds.

"I understand for so many younger adults it has been a really difficult time cooped up, disconnected, away from loved ones," de Blasio said. "I understand that people are just yearning to break out of that, but we've got to keep telling everyone, particularly our younger adults, how important it is to stick to what has worked: the social distancing, the face coverings, getting tested."

The city plans to expand its outreach to young people through social media influencers, mask giveaways and mobile testing vans. There will also be 10 new free, walk-up testing sites in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens.

As more people return to work indoors and go back to using the subways, de Blasio urged New Yorkers to wear face coverings whenever they are indoors outside their homes, even if other people aren't in close proximity.

On Monday, the city reported a 2% positivity rating for coronavirus testing. Fifty-six patients were admitted to the hospital, and 279 patients were in intensive care units.

See the rest here:

NYC Has Its First Day In Months With No COVID-19 Deaths - NPR

The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that the global number of COVID-19 cases has more than doubled over the last 6 weeks, and there's a lot of work ahead.

Meanwhile, a WHO team is on its way to China to meet with researchers to plan a joint mission to probe the zoonotic source of the virus, and health officials are looking into a pneumonia surge in Kazakhstan. The global COVID-19 total today grew to 12,376,147 cases, and 556,895 people have died from their infections, according to the Johns Hopkins online dashboard.

At a WHO media briefing today, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said the pandemic is testing people across all walks of life to their limits. "For those in poverty, with little or no access to quality health services, it's not only COVID-19 that threatens lives and livelihoods," he said, adding that other diseases like measles, polio, and malaria thrive when immunization is paused and drug supply chains are interrupted.

Some countries are experiencing exponential growth in COVID-19 cases, while others are starting to see cases rise after loosening their restrictions, Tedros said, but the underlying message is that aggressive action with national unity and global solidarity can turn the pandemic around. "We need leadership, community participation, and collective solidarity."

Tedros said there are many examples of countries turning their outbreaks around, even when activity was very intense. Alongside Italy, Spain, and South Korea, he highlighted Dharavi, a densely packed part of Mumbai. "A strong focus on community engagement and the basics of testing, tracing, isolating and treating all those that are sick is key to breaking the chains of transmission and suppressing the virus."

In another development, Tedros said two WHO experts are en route to China to learn about progress in investigating the zoonotic source and how the virus jumped to humans. He also said the experts and Chinese scientists will lay the groundwork for a WHO-led mission into the outbreak's origin.

The mission is part of a multipart resolution passed by WHO member countries in May at the World Health Assembly.

Meanwhile, Mike Ryan, MD, head of the WHO's health emergencies program, said the WHO is aware of reports based on Chinese embassy social media posts about a surge of pneumonia in Kazakhstan that is deadlier than COVID-19. He said the country has reported a big spike in lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, more than 10,000 over the past 7 days.

Kazakhstan's government has dismissed the Chinese report as being incorrect, Reuters reported.

Ryan said atypical pneumonia cases can arise anywhere in the world, and though WHO officials are keeping an open mind, most cases are believed to be COVID-19.

He said one possibility is incorrectly diagnosed cases and that the WHO will review patient lung x-rays and illness patterns to see if they are consistent with the pandemic virus.

Kazakhstan recently reimposed restrictions for 2 weeks following a surge in cases, and COVID-19 activity has also picked up again in some other countries in central Asia.

In a separate WHO development today, the group announced the launch of the Access Initiative for Quitting Tobacco, which has a goal of helping tobacco users quit during the pandemic. Smokers are more vulnerable to severe COVID-19 illness than their nonsmoking peers.

The initiative includes resources to quit tobacco, including 40,000 nicotine patches donated by Johnson & Johnson and a digital health worker named Florence who helps people form a personalized quit plan and dispels myths surrounding COVID-19 and tobacco.

Cases in Hong Kong have significantly increased in the past week, and today officials reported 38 more cases, all but 6 thought to reflect local transmission. In a related development, education officials citing an exponential growth in COVID-19 cases over the past 2 days announced the closure of schools, which had reopened in May.

On Twitter today, Ben Cowling, PhD, professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong, said there are worrying signs that a second wave of activity is under way in Hong Kong. His group estimates that the reproductive number is close to 3which means each patient will infect three othersa number he said is concerning. "It will take a lot of effort to bring down such a high reproductive number."

He added that clusters have been reported in a nursing home, public housing, and restaurants, despite a test-and-trace strategy and universal mask use, similar to the first wave.

Measures such as telecommuting, closing bars and other public spaces, and enhancing social distancing in restaurants were needed to control the first wave and may be needed to stop the second wave, Cowling said.

Though it's not clear how the new wave started, the absence of cases for about 3 months hints at more recent introductions, he said, adding that the uptick in cases underscores the importance of effective testing and quarantine of people entering Hong Kong.

See the rest here:

WHO: Aggressive action needed to turn COVID-19 around - CIDRAP

CHARLESTON, W.Va. The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources has reported three new cases in its Tuesday morning report.

The DHHR reports as of 10 a.m., on July 14, 2020, there have been211,915totalconfirmatory laboratory results received for COVID-19, with4,316total cases and 97 deaths.

In alignment with updated definitions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the dashboard includes probable cases which are individuals that have symptoms and either serologic (antibody) or epidemiologic (e.g., a link to a confirmed case) evidence of disease, but no confirmatory test.

According to theDHHRs website, there are currently 1,330 active cases and 2,889 recovered cases in the state.

CASES PER COUNTY(Case confirmed by lab test/Probable case):Barbour (20/0), Berkeley (518/19), Boone (34/0), Braxton (5/0), Brooke (27/1), Cabell (192/7), Calhoun (4/0), Clay (12/0), Fayette (84/0), Gilmer (13/0), Grant (21/1), Greenbrier (71/0), Hampshire (42/0), Hancock (41/3), Hardy (46/1), Harrison (122/0), Jackson (148/0), Jefferson (253/5), Kanawha (420/12), Lewis (21/1), Lincoln (9/0), Logan (39/0), Marion (106/3), Marshall (65/1), Mason (25/0), McDowell (8/0), Mercer (63/0), Mineral (66/2), Mingo (29/2), Monongalia (557/14), Monroe (14/1), Morgan (19/1), Nicholas (19/1), Ohio (147/0), Pendleton (15/1), Pleasants (4/1), Pocahontas (37/1), Preston (81/21), Putnam (90/1), Raleigh (80/3), Randolph (188/2), Ritchie (2/0), Roane (12/0), Summers (2/0), Taylor (22/1), Tucker (7/0), Tyler (10/0), Upshur (31/2), Wayne (127/1), Webster (1/0), Wetzel (37/0), Wirt (6/0), Wood (179/9), Wyoming (7/0).

As case surveillance continues at the local health department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certain county may not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individual in question may have crossed the state border to be tested. Such is the case of Kanawha County in this report.

Editors note: The numbers received from the West Virginia DHHR may include cases that have already been resolved. Therefore, these counts may need to be viewed as historical cases, rather than active cases.

Editors note 2: The total number of cases confirmed by the DHHR now includes probable cases, which are individuals that have symptoms and either serologic (antibody) or epidemiologic (e.g., a link to a confirmed case) evidence of disease, but no confirmatory test.

More detailed information and statistics is available at the DHHRs COVID-19 Dashboard.

Follow this link:

DHHR confirms 3 new cases of COVID-19 in Tuesday morning report - WBOY.com

TheWest Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR)reports as of 10:00 a.m., on July 9, 2020, there have been 195,955 totalconfirmatory laboratory results receivedfor COVID-19, with 3,751 total cases and 95 deaths.

In alignment with updated definitions fromthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the dashboard includes probablecases which are individuals that have symptoms and either serologic (antibody)or epidemiologic (e.g., a link to a confirmed case) evidence of disease, but noconfirmatory test.

CASESPER COUNTY (Case confirmed by lab test/Probable case):Barbour(17/0), Berkeley (490/18), Boone (27/0), Braxton (3/0), Brooke (16/1), Cabell(179/6), Calhoun (4/0), Clay (11/0), Fayette (78/0), Gilmer (13/0), Grant(15/1), Greenbrier (67/0), Hampshire (42/0), Hancock (32/3), Hardy (45/1),Harrison (97/0), Jackson (148/0), Jefferson (244/5), Kanawha (364/10), Lewis(19/1), Lincoln (10/0), Logan (31/0), Marion (92/3), Marshall (52/1), Mason(23/0), McDowell (7/0), Mercer (61/0), Mineral (61/2), Mingo (24/2), Monongalia(388/14), Monroe (16/1), Morgan (19/1), Nicholas (16/1), Ohio (117/0),Pendleton (13/1), Pleasants (5/1), Pocahontas (36/1), Preston (76/16), Putnam(74/1), Raleigh (65/1), Randolph (171/2), Ritchie (2/0), Roane (11/0), Summers(2/0), Taylor (18/1), Tucker (6/0), Tyler (7/0), Upshur (21/1), Wayne (120/1),Webster (1/0), Wetzel (26/0), Wirt (5/0), Wood (152/8), Wyoming (7/0).

As case surveillance continues at thelocal health department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certaincounty may not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individualin question may have crossed the state border to be tested.Such is the case of Kanawha County in this report.

Please visit thedashboard at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more detailed information.

Read the original post:

COVID-19 Daily Update 7-9-2020 - 10 AM - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

Between 2015 and 2019, the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) found 11,000 reported attacks on education globally. The 2020 report profiles 37 countries with a systematic pattern of attack. Violence against schools continues in 2020 with dire consequences for children.

During January to May 2020, monitoring by Insecurity Insight identified 67 incidents across 13 countries where schools were damaged or destroyed.

Schools were stormed, damaged, set on fire and vandalised either in wider attacks on civilians and infrastructure, as part of collateral damage during fighting between state and non-state actors, or in ideological attacks on education. These incidents violate childrens right to education.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new challenges. By the end of May, UNESCO reported 142 country-wide school closures aimed at reducing the spread of the virus affecting over 1.1 million learners. In some countries, schools that have been closed as preventive measures, have been earmarked as quarantine centres, a move frequently met with protests from locals in the surrounding school area.

Original post:

Attacks on schools in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic - World - ReliefWeb

TheWest Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR)reports as of 5:00 p.m., on July 9, 2020, there have been 197,081 total confirmatory laboratory results receivedfor COVID-19, with 3,826 total cases and 95 deaths.

In alignment with updated definitions fromthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the dashboard includes probablecases which are individuals that have symptoms and either serologic (antibody)or epidemiologic (e.g., a link to a confirmed case) evidence of disease, but noconfirmatory test.

CASESPER COUNTY (Case confirmed by lab test/Probable case):Barbour(17/0), Berkeley (499/18), Boone (29/0), Braxton (3/0), Brooke (18/1), Cabell(180/6), Calhoun (4/0), Clay (11/0), Fayette (79/0), Gilmer (13/0), Grant(15/1), Greenbrier (68/0), Hampshire (42/0), Hancock (32/3), Hardy (45/1),Harrison (104/0), Jackson (149/0), Jefferson (247/5), Kanawha (372/12), Lewis (19/1),Lincoln (10/0), Logan (31/0), Marion (93/3), Marshall (54/1), Mason (23/0),McDowell (8/0), Mercer (61/0), Mineral (60/2), Mingo (25/2), Monongalia(405/14), Monroe (14/1), Morgan (19/1), Nicholas (15/1), Ohio (122/0),Pendleton (13/1), Pleasants (5/1), Pocahontas (36/1), Preston (78/16), Putnam(77/1), Raleigh (66/2), Randolph (174/2), Ritchie (2/0), Roane (12/0), Summers(2/0), Taylor (19/1), Tucker (6/0), Tyler (7/0), Upshur (22/1), Wayne (120/1),Webster (1/0), Wetzel (26/0), Wirt (5/0), Wood (154/8), Wyoming (7/0).

As case surveillance continues at thelocal health department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certaincounty may not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individualin question may have crossed the state border to be tested.Such is the case of Mineral, Monroe, and Nicholas counties in this report.

Please visit thedashboard at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more detailed information.

See the article here:

COVID-19 Daily Update 7-9-2020 - 5 PM - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources