Daily Archives: June 21, 2020

Florida again broke its record for single-day coronavirus cases, adding 3,822 infections Friday and bringing the state total to 89,748 cases.

The state also recorded 43 new deaths and 200 additional hospitalizations. In Tampa Bay, Hillsborough and Pinellas County set new records for single-day recorded cases, adding 372 cases and 266 cases respectively.

In the past week, Florida has repeatedly hit new highs for single-day coronavirus cases. Friday was the 17th consecutive day with caseloads more than 1,000.

About a quarter of Floridas total coronavirus cases have been recorded since June 11, when the state had the highest single-day number of new cases since April.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has said the increasing number of coronavirus cases is because of expanded testing, especially to asymptomatic people and targeted populations who come in close contact with each other particularly farm workers.

About 1.5 million people have been tested statewide. DeSantis spokeswoman Helen Aguirre Ferr tweeted that the focus shouldnt be on the rising cases, but rather on Floridas preparedness and that the median age of people testing positive is younger.

More than 75 percent of Floridas adult ICU hospital beds are occupied, according to a WUSF analysis. More than 13,000 Florida residents and non-residents have been hospitalized because of the virus, and 3,197 people have died. Just over half of those deaths are tied to long-term care facilities, which will begin testing all staff every two weeks.

The number of average deaths per week has held steady with numbers from the start of the month. For the week ending June 18, there were 31 average deaths.

The Tampa Bay area added 864 cases Friday, 23 percent of the states daily total. There were also eight additional deaths, four in Hillsborough, two in Manatee and one each in Pinellas and Polk.

The new deaths include an 89-year-old Hillsborough woman, a 70-year-old Hillsborough man, a 74-year-old Hillsborough woman, an 80-year-old Hillsborough man, a 55-year-old Manatee man, a 68-year-old Manatee man, a 91-year-old Pinellas woman and a 73-year-old Polk man.

As of the latest counts, Hillsborough has 4,982 cases and 112 deaths; Pinellas has 3,153 cases and 114 deaths; Polk has 1,856 cases and 77 deaths; Manatee has 1,649 cases and 126 deaths; Pasco has 686 cases and 17 deaths; Citrus has 168 cases and 12 deaths; and Hernando has 158 cases and six deaths.

In countries that have mostly tamped down coronavirus, the U.S. numbers raise alarm.

It really does feel like the U.S. has given up, said Siouxsie Wiles, an infectious-diseases specialist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand in an interview with the Washington Post.

According to the report, in countries where cases have come back, drastic measures have been taken to control the virus. In China, 150 new cases in Beijing led to sealed-off neighborhoods, mass testing and travel restrictions.

Wiles, the specialist from New Zealand, said the U.S. rollout has affected how she sees some of our top-regarded institutions.

Ive always thought of the CDC as a reliable and trusted source of information, she told the Post. Not anymore.

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Florida sets another single-day coronavirus case record with nearly 4,000 infections - Tampa Bay Times

But critics say that instead of tackling the crisis head-on -- perhaps with a reshuffle of his ministerial team; a shakeup of government policy; or the announcement of an inquiry -- Prime Minister Boris Johnson has engaged in a tactic of an altogether more Trumpian style. He has launched a culture war.

And while his government struggles in the face of the onslaught of Covid-19, Johnson announced the merger of two big government departments -- the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), which oversees the UK government's foreign policy, and the Department for International Development (DFID), which runs aid policy. The purpose: To fulfil a policy aim favored by the conservative right that foreign aid should be tied to the UK national interest.

Johnson's government is sitting on a thumping 80-seat majority. It could do anything it wants. Yet experts say the Prime Minister -- a former journalist who is an instinctive campaigner -- appears to be indulging in what amounts to a re-election effort four years before the date of the next poll. The mystery is -- why?

"His reflex is to go back to newspaper commentary and to write columns on statues, to seed stories in the press about trans issues, because that's a way of mobilizing his own base and to throw a hornet's nest at his opponents," Robert Saunders, a British political history expert at Queen Mary University of London, told CNN.

That base is considerably larger than it used to be, and includes many voters in areas that were formerly strongholds of the opposition Labour Party, like the former industrial towns of the English Midlands, Wales and northwest England. Many of those voters were drawn to Johnson by his straightforward electoral promise to "get Brexit done."

That promise was fulfilled when Britain officially left the European Union at the end of March, and the debate switched from an ideological "in or out" battle to the practicalities of trade and fishing rights. With Brexit largely resolved in the minds of the electorate, the Conservatives might be seeking a new way to "reinforce the impression that the Labour Party only stands for liberal, educated young people, and does not really have a sense of what is going on in middle England," said Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.

By stoking the divisions that emerged from Brexit, the Prime Minister's team "are hoping to keep the flame of polarization alive by generating other issues that are likely to trigger the same adversarial feelings," he added.

The polemicist

Johnson's dog-whistling added to the straightforward narrative of an island nation under siege, an effective distraction from more prosaic concerns like access to the single market. "A culture war is fundamentally about distraction," Saunders added. "You're trying to distract your opponent from issues that you don't want to talk about and move them onto issues that you do."

Pejorative language

Culture war issues are not just an instrumental technique "to shore up the base and expand it," Bale added. "Some people around Johnson literally believe this stuff and do think traditional British values are under threat from a 'cancel culture,' which they think is inimical to the traditions of this country."

Johnson announced the launch of a Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, which will also examine why white working-class boys fell behind in school. Downing Street policy chief Munira Mirza has reportedly been tasked with helping to set up it up.

The Prime Minister defended his aide in Parliament on Wednesday, saying he was a huge admirer of Mirza as she is "brilliant thinker about these issues."

Johnson said the new commission would learn "very fast" what changes needed to be made, according to PA news agency.

Encouraging majoritarian fears

"Johnson is a pound shop Trump, slightly more acceptable and less utterly crass," Christine Burns, a trans campaigner and author of "Trans Britain: Our Journey from the Shadows," told CNN. "Just as Brexit emboldened people to be racist," to roll back on transgender rights at such a febrile moment "is not just emboldening people to be transphobic in their language, but also to use physical force," she warned.

The axing of the Department for International Development (DFiD) demonstrated Downing Street's preference for ideology over capacity, according to David Hudson, Professor of Politics and Development at the University of Birmingham.

"It is somewhat astonishing that it has happened right now in a middle of a pandemic [when] the government and civil service are massively stretched," Hudson told CNN. The merger, criticized by three former Prime Ministers, would lead to less transparency on how aid is spent and risks diluting DFID's poverty alleviation agenda, he said.

Johnson defended the move on Tuesday, saying: "for too long, frankly, UK overseas aid has been treated as some giant cashpoint in the sky that arrives without any reference to UK interests or to the values that the UK."

Will Johnson focus on governing rather than rule via press release as Britain's economy nosedives, the country faces "appalling levels of unemployment, and probably further waves of the pandemic?" Saunders asked.

There are one of two routes the UK could go, he added. The public's "patience for these stunts might diminish" and Johnson focusses on "talking about jobs, employment, and health policy," he said. "Or the stunts are going to have to become nastier and more divisive to hold the public's attention."

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Tens of thousands of Britons have died from coronavirus. But Boris Johnson is stoking a culture war. - CNN

Workplaces pose a high risk of triggering a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in Australia, which means people should continue to work from home as long as they can, a report from public policy thinktank the Grattan Institute says.

Published on Sunday evening, the report, Coming out of Covid-19 Lockdown: the Next Steps for Australian Health Care, says schools can safely remain open as long as policies are in place to reduce the risk of outbreaks.

It comes as Victoria announced it would extend its state of emergency for at least four more weeks and ramp up its police enforcement of lockdown rules after a spike in Covid-19 cases in recent days.

The rise also prompted neighbouring South Australia to reconsider its decision to reopen its border, while Queensland declared all of greater Melbourne a Covid-19 hotspot.

The report uses new modelling to suggest that reopening shops and workplaces heightens the risk of new infections, especially if people perceive the threat is over and ignore social distancing rules.

Workplaces should be reopened slowly, with as many people as possible continuing to work from home, the report says. Social distancing in workplaces is crucial and must continue to be incorporated into workplace reopening plans. Schools must be closed, and rigorous contact tracing implemented when a case is detected.

For millions of working parents, having their children at home from school is a significant burden, the report says.

It also disrupts the education of children, particularly already disadvantaged children and those preparing for exams, it says. It is a potential restriction to the spread of Covid-19 with substantial costs to society. The literature finds school closures has minimal effect on the transmission of coronavirus diseases, including Covid-19.

Once there are no longer any active cases, testing must remain a routine part of life, the report says, and current mandatory quarantining of international arrivals must also remain in place. However, it suggests quarantine exemptions could be made with other countries that also have no active Covid-19 cases.

While the prime minister, Scott Morrison, has said Australia is pursuing a strategy of suppression and not elimination of the virus, the lead author of the Grattan report, health economist Stephen Duckett, said: Its really the states driving the public health response and theyre going for zero.

The report said states could only be confident of zero active cases once no new domestic transmissions had been recorded for several weeks.

If there are no local transmissions, governments can afford to allow all activity that would otherwise lead to new infections growing, the report said.

This may not amount to complete elimination, because travellers may enter with the disease, provided that they are quarantined, and care is taken to ensure that while in quarantine they do not infect anyone in the wider community. The elimination scenario is much less restrictive than the others. It would permit normal activity. A government can only afford to permit this much activity if it is confident that there really are no cases out in the community.

The report suggests people should only be permitted to move freely between states once this near elimination had been achieved.

It says the pandemic demonstrated a more effective, efficient and equitable health system is needed.

It would be a tragedy if lessons werent learned from the pandemic, the report says. We argue that Australia should not snap back to the old order, but rather that the changes that occurred during the pandemic should inform what happens during the recovery period and beyond.

Telehealth should become a central part of healthcare, and the government should address poor internet connectivity in rural and remote Australia as a priority, the report says.

In the new normal, health professionals and their patients need to assess when telehealth should be the preferred medium because of the nature of the problem, distance to be travelled, and other factors.

The pandemic had also exposed weaknesses in Australias disease-reporting system. Through the first few months of the crisis, there was no nationally coordinated approach to publicly releasing real-time data on confirmed Covid-19 cases and deaths. This needed to be addressed to better respond to future crises, the Grattan Institute suggests.

The chair of the Australian Healthcare Reform Alliance, Jennifer Doggett, said many of the problems with the heath system that obstructed the response to Covid-19, including a lack of real-time disease reporting, poor oversight of the private hospital system and a lack of coordination between governments, were well known before the pandemic. Once Covid-19 subsides, Doggett said, governments must continue to listen to the experts.

One reason for the success of our Covid-19 response is that policies were informed by expert medical and scientific advice, she said. It would be great if governments paid the same attention to expert advice outside of a crisis situation.

While Australia appeared to have emerged from the initial stages of the pandemic relatively well compared with other countries, Doggett said the government must also reflect on the near misses.

Had Covid-19 arrived only a few weeks earlier in Australia, the peak risk period for community transmission would have coincided with the mass evacuations due to the bushfires, she said. This would have dramatically changed our capacity to contain the spread of the disease at this crucial early stage with potentially catastrophic consequences. Next time we might not be so fortunate.

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High risk of coronavirus second wave as Australian shops and workplaces reopen, report says - The Guardian

The past month of Americas coronavirus crisis has looked different.

Stores, restaurants and workplaces reopened. People became more comfortable leaving their homes. Mass protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police dominated television and social media just as fewer people talked about wearing masks and social distancing.

All the while, the virus waited, patiently.

"People have the perception that something has fundamentally changed, but nothing has fundamentally changed," said Dr. Ali Khan, who became dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center after leading preparedness efforts at the Centers for Disease Control.

"90 to 95% of Americans are still susceptible. The virus is still out there The basic biology of the virus has not changed nor has the basic strategy for fighting it," Khan said. "Until we get this disease under control, we should expect to see continued spikes of illness."

And thats what is happening.

The United States has seen new cases climb from about 21,000 a day the last week of May to nearly 23,000 a day this week. Positive tests and, in some places, hospitalizations have spiked, too, leading many to wonder if a change in behavior caused outbreaks in states such as California, Arizona and Florida.

But neither protests or more people leaving home explain the surge of new COVID-19 cases, a USA TODAY analysis of counties with at least 100 cases has found. Residents of counties with growth of 25% or more over the previous two weeks left their homes at the same rate as people in counties without a surge of new infections, according to cell phone location data compiled by the company SafeGraph.

And large protests were as common in counties without outbreaks as in others although those events could have seeded the virus broadly, and could still lead to outbreaks.

For now, surges seem to be most intense in counties that had avoided the worst coronavirus outbreaks earlier this year. Areas with recent spikes remain lower overall, averaging 614 confirmed coronavirus cases per 100,000 people. Those with slower growth have an overall rate of 860 per 100,000.

No single cause seems to explain why some places have seen spikes and others havent.

"I dont think its clearcut. I think its multifaceted," said Ted Ross, director of the Center for Vaccines and Immunology at the University of Georgia.

Reopening and protests

Experts speculate that people living in places that were not hard hit by COVID-19 earlier this year may be less diligent about wearing masks and maintaining safe social distance, making them more likely to spread the virus once it arrives in force.

"Theyre becoming frustrated and tired. And the ability to remain vigilant for a long period of time is difficult, particularly when they dont see the risk right in front of them," said Mercedes Carnethon, the vice chair of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "How long can you be afraid of the boogeyman if the boogeyman is never actually knocking on your door?"

Others say that the months of closed economies and lockdown orders decreased the prevalence of the virus enough that large gatherings may carry a lower risk of becoming a mass-spreading event than in early spring.

That grace period wont last forever. If large crowds continue to gather at church, the beach and bars without wearing masks and without social distancing, experts said its only a matter of time before an infected person triggers a new outbreak.

"Once you get some disease into a tinderbox situation, it can explode fairly rapidly," said Dr. Lisa Maragakis, the senior director of infection prevention at Johns Hopkins Health System.

Because public data is compiled at the county level, it is impossible to analyze important granular details about particular social groups and individual risk factors.

For instance, a spike caused by people who became ill at protests might be obscured by the fact that the prevalence of coronavirus in their home community declined because of preventive measures. Or, a spike might be tied to a single mass-spreading event, like a church service, rather than the general public leaving their homes more often.

Additionally, it can take weeks for mass spreading events to cascade enough that they cause a noticeable surge in confirmed cases, especially if a state is not adequately isolating the first people who show symptoms and tracing their contacts with others.

Unequal harm

Sometimes good individual choices are not enough to protect communities, experts said.

Minority groups are disproportionately represented among essential workers who have faced ongoing exposure to coronavirus, including at meatpacking plants and nursing homes, where they dominate the workforce.

USA Today has previously reported that meatpacking plants have become epicenters of outbreaks in many communities because of crowded work spaces, poor hygiene controls and policies that discouraged sick workers from staying home. Similarly, many nursing homes have been cited for poor infection controls that put both residents and staff at risk, USA Today has reported.

That appears to be a factor in Arkansas latest large outbreak.

In Washington County, Arkansas, concern about the increase in Hispanic and Asian households far outweighs any impact from protests, said Jennifer Dillaha, epidemiologist and medical director for immunization and outbreak response at the Arkansas Department of Health.

The Fayetteville area has seen among the biggest increases in coronavirus cases in the country, adding 792 of its 1,970 cases within the past week. While Fayetteville had large protests, she said people reporting new cases arent connected to them.

Instead, Dillaha said most cases have been tied to workers at poultry processing plants, which includes Latinos and Asian Americans. Some of the newest cases also have been among children. She said she did not yet have enough information to know if the kids contracted the virus from family members at the plant or from somewhere else in the community.

"We know that the Latino population is a young population, and they tend to have large households," Dillaha said. "So our concern is that it's spreading in the homes and social groups outside the homes."

In the face of the dramatic increase in cases, Fayetteville this week started to require people wear cloth face coverings in public. Dillaha said it was the first such order in the state, but she wouldnt be surprised to see more.

"If we don't get a handle on cases in the worksite, then we will have difficulty when the University opens up. It all works together, if any one area is not addressed, the other areas will be affected."

Mask orders

In Larimer County, Colorado, cell phone location data shows the rate of people staying home declined by 12% from May to June. In late May, large protests broke out, with hundreds gathering to call for changes to policing.

Yet new cases there are growing at their slowest rate fewer than five cases a day over the past week since the first patient was identified back in early March.

Katie ODonnell, a public information officer for the Laramie County Department of Health and environment, attributes the decline in cases to a real change in behavior. The county issued a face mask order on May 2, asking businesses to require the coverings as a condition of reopening.

"We got to reopen our businesses because we were willing to have these face-covering orders," ODonnell said. "People hate it. People complain. But for the most part people understand if you just wear these face coverings, we can begin to reopen."

The decline in new cases largely overlaps with that order. The week before it went into effect, the county identified 75 new cases. The next week there were 46. Last week, there were just 27.

Thats not due to a lack of testing, ODonnell said, as testing has become more widespread. And protesters, in particular, have been taking advantage.

"I get a surprising number of calls from them, after they protest," she said, adding that interestingly "our protesters are wearing masks, and trying to keep their social distance."

Increased testing

By comparison, Arizona has not mandated masks statewide and until recently local governments were barred from issuing their own orders, one reason experts suspect new cases are cropping up faster there than in most of the country.

"As things opened up, a lot of folks may not have fully understood all the practices we should continue," said Dr. Joshua LaBaer, director of the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University. "When I go out on the weekend, I see lots of people walking around without masks. Not long ago, I passed a soccer game with clusters of parents chatting without masks as if theres no pandemic going on."

Researchers at the institute estimate the rate of transmission grew 40% in the first two weeks after the state started to reopen May 11. On that day, the state reported 261 new positive tests. On Thursday, Arizona reported a record high of nearly 10 times that many: 2,519 new cases.

Counties with the fastest spread of coronavirus in June are not the same ones that saw surges in March.

For instance, Apache and Navajo Counties, which include large chunks of the rural Navajo Nation, have some of the country's highest rates of overall infection, with more than 2,500 people infected for every 100,000 residents. But the rate of spread there has slowed dramatically in recent weeks as tribal officials have ordered lockdowns even as residents of non-tribal lands moved forward with Arizona's reopening plan.

Each person with COVID-19 in Apache County is now infecting 1.02 other people, down from 1.7 in early April. In Navajo County, the rate has dropped from 1.5 to 1.1. If the figure drops below 1, it means that the outbreak is contained and will peter out.

In a recent call, President Donald Trump urged governors to describe the nationwide growth in positive tests as the result of increased testing, saying there should be no cause for alarm.

Last last week, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, described a spike in cases as the result of increased testing. A few days later, his tone changed. On Wednesday, he urged Arizonans to wear masks and authorized cities and counties to establish local mandates, acknowledging that coronavirus cases were growing.

LaBaer echoed other experts who said easier access to testing does not fully explain the increases.

"You can tell by the number of hospitalizations, by the number of ER visits," he said. "There are more COVID-19 cases and more transmission out there."

The five-day average of tests in Arizona shows 17% have been positive, well above the 10% threshold considered a sign of adequate testing by the World Health Organization. It also is higher than a peak in late April at 14% and the low of 7% seen when the state announced it would reopen.

Pointing to a graph showing the number of new cases announced each day, LaBaer dragged his pointer up and to the right.

"Thats the foot on the accelerator," he said. "That means day over day there are more cases and the virus is actively spreading in the community."

Contributing: Mike Stucka and Dan Keemahill

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Coronavirus surges arent linked to one single cause - The Register-Guard

Former Mahwah Mayor Bill Laforet said coronavirus hit him like a ton of bricks and can't even remember the first 10 days in the hospital. NorthJersey.com

New Jersey is one of three stateson track to contain COVID-19, a remarkable turnaround for a state thatonce led the country in per capita deaths, according to the nonprofit Covid Act Now.

The state's progress to "flatten the curve" of patients admitted to hospitals and dying of complications from the disease comes as states around the country that took less stringent containment measures are hitting peaks in deaths and new cases.

Not only are cases steadily decreasing in New Jersey, but the state's COVID preparedness "meets or exceeds international standards," Covid Act Now said. New York and Michigan are the other two states rated by the organizationto be on track to contain the coronavirus.

"The great work millions of you have done so far to crushthe curves has been working and we need to keep at it,"Gov. Phil Murphy, who has been criticized for reopening the state too slowly, said at his briefing Friday.

Healthcare workers at The Actors Fund Home in Englewood were honored with a car caravan thanking them for their service during the coronavirus pandemic from members 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East on June 17, 2020.(Photo: AMY NEWMAN, NORTHJERSEY.COM/ USA TODAY NETWORK)

New Jersey still leads the nation in someareas. It ranks thirdin deaths, with 12,835,and fifth in hospitalizations, Murphy said. But those have dropped off dramatically since the peak in mid-April. Andother key benchmarks show promise for a state thatis among the most densely populated.

The infection rate was 0.82 as of Thursday, which means that foreach COVID-positive person they were on average infecting 0.82 other people. Because of that,the total number of casesis shrinking, according to Covid Act Now.

The positive test rate was 1.8% as of Thursday, suggesting that there has been enough testing to detect most new cases and being able to identify and isolate people without resorting to lockdowns, the organization said.

Covid Act Now is comprised oftechnologists, epidemiologists, health expertsand public policy leaders.

New Jersey is now in the second of three stages of its reopening from widespread business lockdowns and a stay-at-home order that lasted more than two months. Nail and hair salons, barber shops, spasand tattoo parlors will be allowed to open Monday, which Murphy said will be a significant test since those are the first types of businesses where people closely interact with each other.

New Jersey: Amazon, pizza and PPE: What NJ spent $300 million on during coronavirus response

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"We're going to have to be really, reallycareful, folks, on this one," Murphy said. "Everybody has to approach this with a sense of responsibility, not just for themselves but for the greater community."

Alexandra Altman, a spokeswoman for Murphy, said his "strategic and comprehensive reopening plan" prioritizes public health with policies such as social distancing and masking.

"It is clear that these aggressive efforts, as detailed by Covid Act Nows analysis, have set New Jersey as a national leader in stemming the tide of the virus as we continue to see a decrease in COVID-19 cases, infection rate, and ventilator use," Altman said in an email.

Based on the current trends, New Jersey would see a cumulative 29% of the population infected and 13,000 total deaths in 30 days, Covid Act Now said. It projected those figures to rise to 34% and 14,000, respectively, in the same period if all restrictions were lifted.

Dustin Racioppiis a reporter in the New Jersey Statehouse. For unlimited access to hiswork covering New Jerseysgovernorand political power structure,please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email:racioppi@northjersey.comTwitter:@dracioppi

Read or Share this story: https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/new-jersey/2020/06/19/nj-hits-top-ranking-coronavirus-analysis-showing-positive-trends/3221792001/

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NJ hits top ranking in coronavirus analysis, showing positive trends and signs of hope - NorthJersey.com

Low-income people of color are getting sick and dying from COVID-19 more than other groups in the Bay Area a discouraging pattern mirrored across the U.S. that has exposed significant health and socioeconomic disparities.

Much has been learned in the 100 days since shelter-in-place orders settled across the state. In particular, that the highly contagious virus targets people living in crowded housing or who have been unable to stay home throughout the crisis because they work in jobs deemed essential, many of which pay relatively low wages. Most often, these are people of color.

By contrast, wealthier and safely housed people typically white have generally been able to work from home since mid-March.

The pandemic has not only exacerbated socioeconomic divides that have festered for decades, it has made the plight of the Bay Areas low-income communities impossible to ignore as public health departments have shared the stunning data daily on their websites, and the press have written about the impact on communities of color.

What has become clear is that the virus affects low-income communities of color in different ways, with Latinos accounting for a significant number of infections and Asian American and black people dying disproportionately from the illness.

Here is a sampling of significant trends that have emerged in the past 100 days:

African Americans: Black people are about 6% of California residents, yet account for for 9% of COVID-19 deaths (491 of 5,360).

Latinos: Latinos disproportionately test positive for, and die of, the coronavirus in three Bay Area regions.

Alameda County: Latinos make up more than half of the countys coronavirus cases (2,320 of the total 4,585) and 28% of deaths (33 of 118).

Santa Clara County: Latinos make up nearly 43% of cases (1,450 of 3,398) and 31.6% of deaths (48 of 152).

San Francisco County: Latinos make up just 15% of the countys population, yet account for 50% of cases (1, 525 of 3,057).

Similar patterns exist in other Bay Area counties, where Latinos generally account for a higher number of cases.

Asian Americans in San Francisco: Asian Americans are just over a third of city residents, yet account for nearly half of COVID-19 deaths (22 of 47). Asian Americans account for 12% of cases (370 of 3,057).

A UCSF testing initiative in the Mission District revealed Thursday that low-income Latinos who continued going to work throughout the spring accounted for a large number of the people previously infected with the virus. Results of antibody and nasal swab tests of nearly 4,000 residents revealed about 6% tested positive for antibodies in late April and early May, which means theyd been previously infected. Around 2% were actively infected when they were tested.

Mario Paz, executive director of the Good Samaritan Family Resource Center in San Francisco, said low-income Latinos have been in crisis mode for years.

We werent surprised about the health data that came out because we know the majority of our low-income Latino families live in substandard housing. They live in crowded conditions. They don't have places to isolate if they get sick, said Paz, whose clients are largely low-income Latinos. There should have been more attention paid to this.

Socorro Diaz, who works as a housekeeper for several families in Sonoma County, said local and state officials should have done more to protect vulnerable, at-risk communities. Shelter-in-place orders have prevented Diaz from working since March. She said two of her employers recently let her go.

While many essential workers fell victim to the virus, people like Diaz lost their financial lifelines. Californias unemployment rate hit 16.3% in May, state officials reported Friday.

She and her husband, Felix Vasquez, are relying on meager savings to scrape by, but the couple is behind on their rent.

This should not be happening, said Diaz. We didnt expect any of this and it exploded like a bomb and everyone is wondering what to do. For being the United States, the most powerful country in the world, were not handling the pandemic the way we should.

Tatiana Sanchez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tatiana.sanchez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TatianaYSanchez.

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Coronavirus runs through crowded homes and must-do jobs, hitting people of color hard - San Francisco Chronicle

A worker administers a test to a passenger at a drive-through site to collect samples for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic testing in Leesburg, Virginia, May 20, 2020.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

One of the components of contact tracing programs public health experts deem critical to controlling the Covid-19 outbreak includes finding and testing close contacts of known positive cases.

In terms of Covid-19, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines a close contactas anyone whowas within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting two days before the onset of symptoms until the time the patient is isolated. For asymptomatic patients, or those who don't show symptoms, it would be anyone in contact with them two days before a positive specimen was collected, the CDC advises.

Family members under the same roof or close acquaintances usually fit the bill, public health and infectious disease experts say. However, coming into contact with the coronavirus can be much more nuanced, especially as large gatherings have resumed in cities across the nation where people from different regions might assemble in close proximity, increasing the risk of transmission.

"People like to think in terms of light switches of on and off, risk or no risk, but the truth is it's a dimmer switch," said Dr. Greg Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group. "The more people you come into contact with, the higher the probability of coming in contact with someone who's infected."

Someone who attended a large gathering doesn't necessarily meet the general definition of a close contact, Dr.Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization's emergencies program, said during a press conference at the agency's Geneva headquarters on June 8.

However, there may be situations where public health officials, out of an abundance of caution, could advise people to either quarantine or get tested, he said.

"There are any number of actions that could be taken, but by the strict definition of what risk is in the context of Covid-19, the riskiest situation to be in is to be in close proximity to a case, particularly a symptomatic case of Covid-19," Ryan said.

There are a number of high-risk situations that could increase your likelihood of Covid-19 transmission, experts say. Attending a large gathering for a prolonged period of time where people may not be wearing face coverings and are in close proximity would be considered higher risk.

Indoor gatherings with less air circulation are also considered higher risk than outdoor, experts say.

Context also has to be considered when attending mass gatherings, such as the nationwide protests for the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, where people could be chanting while not wearing masks,said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security.

Scientists know the coronavirus can spread through respiratory droplets that pass when an infected person coughs, sneezes or even breathes.The droplets of infected fluid can land on nearby surfaces like desks, tables or telephones and infect anyone who touches them.

"These are not just people sitting quietly outdoors listening to a Mozart concert. There is screaming, chanting, yelling. They're being sprayed with pepper spray and tear gas, all of which increase the transmission risk," Adalja said.

Adalja also said the 15 minute mark outlined by the CDC isn't necessarily a magic number and transmission can be possible in a shorter time frame, but the figure is typically used to determine where the most value would be derived during a contact tracing investigation, he said.

Where you live in the U.S. could also increase your risk as some states,likethoseintheWestandSouth, report record-breaking daily new cases figures.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to get tested if you attended an event where Covid-19 cases were increasing, especially if tests are easily accessible, said Dr. Preeti Malani, chief health officer and professor of medicine and infectious disease at the University of Michigan.

Malani added that testing people at gatherings could also help public health experts determine what local transmission is like in the area. You should absolutely be tested if you went somewhere and begin developing common symptoms, like a cough, fever or shortness or breath, she said.

The best time to know whether you were infected with Covid-19 during an event would be several days after, Adalja said. Otherwise, you could still test positive, but it would take further examination to determine whether you were infected before or after a certain event.

"If you just get tested four days afterward, you could've still been incubating it, it's not necessarily you got it there, so you have to look at the timeline," he said.

Studies suggest that the virus can be undetectable within the first few days of infection, depending on the test.Research also shows that it can take anywhere from five to 12 days for people to show symptoms from thecoronavirus.

Ravina Kullar, an adjunct faculty member at the University of California Los Angeles and a member of the Infectious Disease Society of America, suggests anyone who attends a mass gathering or protest quarantine for a few days before getting a test.

"You need a high enough viral load for the test to pick it up and in those early days, one to two days, has been shown to not be that accurate," Kullar said.

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What it means to come into close contact with a coronavirus case and your risk of infection - CNBC

Texas has seen a recent uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases, with a record level of new cases and hospitalizations announced Tuesday. People are seen here Monday along the San Antonio River Walk. Eric Gay/AP hide caption

Texas has seen a recent uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases, with a record level of new cases and hospitalizations announced Tuesday. People are seen here Monday along the San Antonio River Walk.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Tuesday the state's highest-ever number of new COVID-19 cases: 2,622.

He also reported a second record high: 2,518 people hospitalized with the virus in Texas, up from 2,326 a day earlier.

Despite the concerning uptick in people sick with the virus, Abbott said that the reason for his news conference was to let Texans know about the "abundant" hospital capacity for treating people with COVID-19. He and other officials spent much of the briefing touting the state's hospital bed availability.

Disclosing the new record high number of hospitalizations related to COVID-19, Abbott emphasized that figure is "really a very small percentage of all the beds that are available."

Texas has so far been spared the high case numbers in other populous states. While it's the second-largest state by population, Texas currently ranks sixth in terms of cumulative case numbers.

Before releasing the number of new cases, Abbott delved into what he said accounted for the previous daily high on June 10, which had 2,504 new cases. The governor said that spike could be largely attributed to 520 positive tests of inmates in Texas prisons being reported at once as well as a data error in a rural county.

He said there are also reasons for why Tuesday's new case count was so high: tests results coming from an assisted living facility near Plano; a county south of Austin where positive cases seemed to be reported in batches; and 104 cases in one East Texas county that appear to be primarily from tests at a prison.

But he also pointed to uncareful behavior as a possible driver in some of the new cases. Abbott said there were a number of counties where a majority of those who tested positive for the coronavirus were under the age of 30, which he attributed to people going to "bar-type" settings or Memorial Day celebrations and not taking health precautions.

Abbott said that measures such as wearing masks, hand sanitizing and social distancing are what make it possible to reopen the state's economy.

Dr. John Hellerstedt, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, struck the same note.

"The message is we are seeing some increase in the number of COVID patients in the state. We expected this," he said. "But we are seeing it occurring at a manageable level. I really want to stress that the continued success is up to the people of the state of Texas."

Despite Abbott's emphasis on the importance of masks, he has barred Texas cities from implementing any rules that would require face coverings.

Abbott signed an executive order on April 27 that says while individuals are encouraged to wear face masks, "no jurisdiction can impose a civil or criminal penalty for failure to wear a face covering."

On Tuesday, the mayors of nine Texas cities including Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth and El Paso sent a letter to the governor asking for the authority to set the rules and regulations on the use of face coverings.

"A one-size-fits-all approach is not the best option. We should trust local officials to make informed choices about health policy. And if mayors are given the opportunity to require face coverings, we believe our cities will be ready to help reduce the spread of this disease," they wrote. "If you do not have plans to mandate face coverings statewide, we ask that you restore the ability for local authorities to enforce the wearing of face coverings in public venues where physical distancing cannot be practiced."

Abbott said Tuesday that judges and local officials have other tools available for enforcement such as issuing fines for gatherings that don't follow state protocols.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler extended a stay-at-home warning on Monday amid the news of rising cases but that warning could only be advice to residents and not an order due to the state's preemption.

"People are confused," Adler told NPR's Steve Inskeep on Tuesday. "They just don't know at this point if it's really important to wear face coverings or not, because I think they're feeling like they're getting mixed messaging not only from state leadership but from national leadership. So we're just not getting the vigilance that we need on these efforts."

In Austin, Adler said, you'll see most everyone wearing a mask in grocery stores but not in restaurants or music clubs: "When we started opening up the economy and when the governor took away from cities the ability to make it mandatory, more and more people stopped wearing them."

Adler said he agreed with Abbott that face coverings are key to reopening parts of the economy, even if they're unpleasant for wearers.

"I know it's inconvenient. I know it's hot. I know it's a nuisance," Adler said. "And it's hard to do, and people don't like it. But at the same time, our community has to decide just how much we value the lives of folks in our community that are over 65 and older. We have to decide how much we value the lives of the communities of color that are suffering disproportionately because of this virus."

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Texas Governor Says 'No Reason Today To Be Alarmed' As Coronavirus Cases Set Record - NPR

The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus around the world has now topped 8 million as the World Health Organization continues to warn that while the virus has slowed in parts of Europe it is gaining speed in other parts of the world, including parts of Africa and the Americas.

The coverage on this live blog has ended but for up-to-the-minute coverage on the coronavirus,visit thelive blog from CNBC's U.S. team.

The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The decision to exclude Sweden, from the lifting of travel restrictions between Nordic countries Finland, Denmark and Norway, following the coronavirus pandemic, "has created wounds that will take time to heal," the country's Foreign Minister Ann Linde told CNBC.

A decision not to implement a strict lockdown like its neighbors has meant that Sweden, which has seen a far higher number of coronavirus cases and deaths, has been left out of an easing of travel restrictions between the countries.

Minister Ann Linde said "people that have been very used to working as if there were no borders, have been given a very clear wake-up call that different nations (are being treated differently) and I think this will, in many people, create wounds that could be difficult to heal." Holly Ellyatt

Russian President Vladimir Putin has a "disinfection tunnel" installed at his residence to protect him from contracting the coronavirus, Russian news agencyRia Novosti reported Tuesday.

The chamber has been installed at the president's residence in Novo-Ogaryovo, according to the news agency. Anyone entering the residence has to pass through the chamber thatuses a fine mist of disinfectant solution that covers clothing and exposed areas of the body. Holly Ellyatt

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a Victory Day military parade marking the 74th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

12:48 p.m. Singapore time Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez said he has been diagnosed with coronavirus and will work remotely as he is being treated, Reuters reported. He is experiencing mild symptoms and his wife and two of his aides have also been diagnosed with the disease, according to Reuters.

Honduras has confirmed 9,656 cases of coronavirus and 330 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Christine Wang

9:06 a.m. Beijing time China's capital city had gone more than 50 days without domestically transmitted cases when a new cluster of cases emerged late last week, and were traced back to a major wholesale produce market in Beijing.

As of Tuesday, China's National Health Commission reported another 31 confirmed cases of local transmission in Beijing.

The city has started to reinstate some restrictions that had been relaxed in recent weeks. While these measures are less strict than the blanket bans imposed in February, they are still likely hit economic activity again. Evelyn Cheng, Christine Wang

7:20 p.m. ETAmazon is testing a wearable device at its Seattle-area warehouse that lights up and beeps if workers aren't following social distancing rules, according a memo obtained by CNBC.

Starting Wednesday, the device will be rolled out at Amazon's Kent, Washington facility. The device is a clear plastic sleeve with a clip that features an LED light and audio system, according to a memo seen by CNBC.

When workers are too close to one another, the wearable emits a loud beeping noise and the light flashes.

An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the company recently began a small-scale pilot of the wearable device at one of its warehouses. The spokesperson added that the company will use feedback from teams testing the device "to continue to iterate." It comes as Amazon has also experimented with cameras equipped with social distancing software. On Tuesday, the company announced it's rolling out "Distance Assistants" at a handful of facilities across the U.S. A camera is hooked up to a monitor and a local computing device that alerts users as they walk by whether they're maintaining proper distancing.Annie Palmer

6:25 p.m. ET Dexamethasone, a steroid that one study says effectively reduced death among Covid-19 patients, is a "good first step" to finding a cocktail of drugs that can treat the disease, Oxford University professorMartin Landray told CNBC.

"It's very likely that we'll end up with a situation where a combination of drugs are used, just as we see in HIV, just as we see in heart disease, in many other areas of medicine," said Landray, who co-led the study that found the drug to improve survival among patients. "But this is the first step. It's a good first step."

The drug is cheap, widely available in most countries and appears to be effective in treating some symptoms of the disease, Landray said. He said he hopes that researchers find other drugs that also attack other aspects of the virus and the disease it caused.Will Feuer

Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced the US Army Corps of Engineers and the state are putting up a 250-bed field hospital at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas during a press conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Sunday, March 29, 2020.

Tom Fox | Getty Images

5 p.m. ETTexas Gov. Greg Abbottsaid that the state has seen an increase in coronavirus cases since Memorial Day most likely due to people who didn't follow recommended social distancing practices.

The state reported an additional 2,622 cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, a new daily high, he said. Abbott pointed to an increase in testing in state nursing homes, correctional facilities as well as some reporting delays as reasons behind jumps in daily case numbers.

However, he added that some counties have reported higher positivity rates stemming from people under 30 years old, indicating they may be going to "bar-type settings" or were infected at Memorial Day celebrations, Abbott said. "We think we can also accurately say there has been an increase especially beginning around the Memorial Day time period and going through a few weeks after that an increase in people testing positive because they may not be practicing all these safe standards," he said. He reminded residents to continue wearing face masks, washing their hands and maintaining a distance from other people.Noah Higgins-Dunn

Tracy Collie styles Roberta Skivicki's hair at Three-13 Salon, Spa and Boutique, during the phased reopening of businesses and restaurants from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions in the state, in Marietta, Georgia, April 24, 2020.

Bita Honarvar | Reuters

4:20 p.m. ETBoth Missouri and Georgia have made major progress in easing coronavirus-related restrictions.

Missouri has lifted all statewide coronavirus restrictions to "be fully open for business," according to Gov. Mike Parson. However, local officials can still put health measures in place.

Georgia now allows gatherings of up to 50 people as long as guests remain 6 feet apart. Restaurants no longer have capacity limitations and bars can now have up to 50 people or 35% of their total capacity, whichever is greater.

For more on states' reopening progress, click here. Hannah Miller

People enjoy the beach amid the coronavirus pandemic in Huntington Beach, California on June 14, 2020.

APU GOMES | AFP | Getty Images

3:30 p.m. ETThe 2020 Vans U.S. Open of Surfing has been canceled this year in Huntington Beach, California and will return in 2021 because of safety concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, event organizers announced this week.

The Vans U.S. Open of Surfing brings together the international board sports community for the largest professional sports competition and festival in the world, the event website said. "The Vans US Open of Surfing has always been about bringing people together in a healthy, fun and interactive environment, and given the size and scale of the event, we can't see a way to do that this year without sacrificing the very thing that makes it so special," said Jennifer Lau, vice president of Action Sports at IMG in a press release.Suzanne Blake

Customers visit the Apple store on Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Eduardo Munoz | Reuters

1:49 p.m. ET Apple will reopen 10 stores in New York City this week, but many of them will be "appointment only," meaning that customers need to schedule a time to buy products or get service for their computers.

It's the first time stores in New York City will be open since March, when the company shuttered its locations amid the pandemic, and a sign that business is picking up in the city.

By the end of the week, more than 200 of the company's 271 retail stores will be open. Apple requires customers to wear face masks inside its stores, and will provide masks to customers who don't have one.Kif Leswing

1:43 p.m. ET New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the U.S. Open tennis tournament will be held on schedule but without fans in attendance.

Cuomo said players and staff will be subject to robust testing, additional cleaning, extra locker room space, and dedicated housing and transportation.

While tennis fans may be happy to have a live sporting event to look forward to, some top players are voicing their concerns about their safety.

"I'll get my hazmat suit ready," Nick Kyrgios tweeted, calling the push to hold the tournament "selfish." The iconic Queens tournament is a big money generator for both New York state and the U.S. Tennis Association, generating $400 million annually.Jessica Golden

1:38 p.m. ET New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state will allow hospitals and group homes to accept visitors at their discretion after limiting access to the facilities at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in mid-March. The order does not apply to the state's nursing homes, Cuomo said.

Visitors will be required to follow state guidelines, which include limiting time with patients, requiring personal protective equipment and requiring symptom and temperature checks. On Monday, the state reported its lowest three-day average of Covid-19 deaths and its lowest level of hospitalizations since the outbreak began in mid-March, Cuomo said.Noah Higgins-Dunn

Fans attend Emerald City Comic Con at Washington State Convention Center on March 1, 2018 in Seattle, Washington.

Suzi Pratt

1:30 p.m. ET With the coronavirus pandemic still looming, a number of prominent fan conventions have been canceled.

ReedPop announced that the previously postponed Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle was canceled due to safety concerns related to Covid-19. All tickets that were transferred from ECCC's March 2020 date to the August 2020 date will be automatically refunded by June 29.

The next ECCC will take place in March 2021.

Disney also revealed Monday that its upcoming Star Wars Celebration, which was set to take place in August, was canceled. The company cited public health guidelines and concerns over attendees' safety.

The next Star Wars Celebration will take place in August 2022 in California.Sarah Whitten

1:20 p.m. ET Cisco said that after helping some customers deploy remote collaboration technology and other solutions to address remote work during the pandemic, it will now offer those products and consulting services to more of its clients as solutions for faster adoption.

Though some parts of the world have begun permitting companies to reopen their offices to employees, CEO Chuck Robbins said it's still early.

Cisco has solutions that prisons can use for virtual inmate visits and technology to monitor adherence to social distancing in offices, Robbins said.Jordan Novet

COVID unit nurse Anita Pedy (left) and medical student volunteer Alan Araiza (right) check bruises on the back of COVID patient Melquiades Cervantes. In Houston, Texas.

Carolyn Cole | Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

1:04 p.m. ET Texas Covid-19 hospitalizations are up roughly 66% since Memorial Day as the state continues to reopen.

There are now 2,518 patients hospitalized with a coronavirus infection across the state's hospitals, according to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services. At least 10 states in total are showing a rise in hospitalizations, according to a CNBC analysis of data from theCOVID Tracking Project.

In recent weeks, some state and federal leaders have downplayed a recent rise in cases and hospitalizations across the U.S., tying it to an increased in testing. Infectious disease specialists note that the U.S. and other parts of the world will likely continue to see a rise in cases until there is a proven drug or effective vaccine.Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

12:28 p.m. ET Americans who can't afford the vaccine to prevent Covid-19 will get it for free, Trump administration officials announced.

Some commercial insurers have also expressed "eagerness" to cover the vaccine without a co-pay, a senior administration official told reporters during a press briefing, meaning those with insurance may also not have to pay anything out of pocket.

U.S. health officials and researchers have been fast-tracking work on vaccine development, aiming to produce 300 million doses of a potential vaccine by January. Because of the pandemic, U.S. officials are investing in multiple stages of research even though doing so could be for naught if the vaccine ends up not being effective or safe.Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

11:40 a.m. ET Dexamethasone, a cheap and widely available steroid, could have an "immediate impact" on how doctors treat Covid-19 patients, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr.Scott Gottliebsaid.

A new study found the drug to effectively improve survival among severely sick Covid-19 patients.

"It's going to probably have an immediate impact on what doctors are doing in the ICU setting," Gottlieb said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" in response to the news."This is an important finding. It's going to change dogma."

The researchers of the study said it is the first drug to appear to improve survival among Covid-19 patients. There are still notreatments approved by the FDA to treat the disease, though Gilead's remdesivir has received an emergency use authorization.Will Feuer

A medical worker puts a sample for COVID-19 antibody testing into a test tube.

Gavriil Grigorov | TASS via Getty Images

11:23 a.m. ET Tenet Healthcare says the spike in Covid-19 cases in states like Arizona is not impeding the rebound in elective surgery at its hospitals, which are back to 95% of pre-coronavirus levels this month.

"We're busy with Covid, but we're not overwhelmed.... and we've put a lot of focus on really insuring Covid care zones are being separated from coded safe zones, and communicating that actively into the community and to the physician community, in particular, so they feel comfortable," said Tenet COO Saum Sutaria on an update call with analysts.

Sutaria noted that new Covid-19 patients in markets where cases are rising tend to be younger, in their mid-30s to mid-60s, and require less intensive care treatment.

Tenet shares rose nearly 6% in opening trade but gave up those gains late morning.Bertha Coombs

11:06 a.m. ET Homebuyer demand is up following a sudden drop at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, CNBC's Diana Olick reports.

Homebuilder sentiment went up 21 points in June to 58, the biggest monthly increase ever in the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. Readings above 50 indicate a positive market.

In April, the reading diminished 42 points to 30. Under the homebuilder index's three elements, current sales conditions rose 21 points to 63 in June meanwhile sales expectations rose 22 points to 68. Buyer traffic went up from 22 to 43.

"As the nation reopens, housing is well-positioned to lead the economy forward," said NAHB Chairman Dean Mon, a homebuilder and developer from Shrewsbury, New Jersey. "Inventory is tight, mortgage applications are increasing, interest rates are low and confidence is rising." Suzanne Blake

Doctors wearing face masks and gloves as a preventive measure attend to a coronavirus patient at the intensive care unit of Albert Schweitzer Hospital.

Robin Utrecht | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images

9:50 a.m. ET One in five people worldwide isat risk of developing severe cases of Covid-19, scientists have estimated.

A team of researchers from the U.S., the U.K. and China estimated that 1.7 billion people or 22% of the global population are at "increased risk" of developing severe symptoms if infected with the coronavirus.

People were considered to be at increased risk if they had one or more chronic health conditions associated with greater vulnerability to the virus, such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease.

In North America, 28% of the population, or 104 million people, had at least one underlying condition that put them at increased risk of developing severe Covid-19 if they caught the virus, according to the study.Chloe Taylor

9:41 a.m. ET Treating Covid-19 patients with the generic steroid dexamethasone cut death rates by about a third for those with the most serious cases of the virus, according to data from a UK-led clinical trial.

Scientists have called the results a "major breakthrough" and the study's researchers said the generic drug should become standard care in hospitalized coronavirus patients, Reuters reports.

There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for the coronavirus. Hannah Miller, Reuters

9:22 a.m. ET This year's CNBC Disruptor 50 listincludes at least 18 companies that say demand for their core products has more than doubled since the coronavirus crisis unleashed itself across the world. That's because many use artificial intelligence and machine learning, which are speeding the development of medical treatments to fight the virus.

Others are in the health-technology field supporting at-home testing, such as Healthy.io, which provides FDA-approved remote urinalysis, and Heal, a six-year-old start-up that provides at-home doctor visits through telemedicine.

C3.ai, a company that is so defined by artificial intelligence that it changed its name from C3 IoT a few years ago, has taken a leading role in using the technology to fight Covid-19.

The three-time Disruptor 50 company teamed up with Amazon Web Services in April to create a Covid-19 "data lake," which unifies data sets, updates them in real-time and offers researchers a clearer starting point for generating usable insights.

Tempusbuilt a drug discovery-and-development platform designed to be disease-agnostic. So when the pandemic hit, it was in a strong position to pivot and support efforts to slow the spread and to find short-term and long-term treatments.

Tempus brought a test to market in April and launched a research project examining 50,000 coronavirus-positive patients to find the most effective treatments and other insights. Lori Ioannou

AstraZeneca's building in Luton, Britain.

Tim Ireland | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

8:58 a.m. ET AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine would provide protection from contracting Covid-19 for around one year, CEO Pascal Soriot told Belgian radio station Bel RTL Tuesday.

The company has contracts with France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,the U.S. and Britain to provide doses of the vaccine, Reuters reported.

Soriot said the vaccine could be ready, beginning October, "if all goes well."

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Putin has a 'disinfection tunnel,' Sweden feels isolated over coronavirus - CNBC

He added that C.D.C. employees would be redeployed to states experiencing new outbreaks and encouraged governors to think on a county level when dealing with them. The vice president also said that the viruss spread was now well contained, and he adopted a term that Mr. Trump has used for the virus embers, which can be quickly snuffed out.

The president often talks about embers, Mr. Pence added. As we go through the summer, as we see, over all, as you all know, around the country, that despite a mass increase in testing, we are still averaging roughly 20,000 cases a day, which is significantly down from six weeks ago.

Experts, including some in the Trump administration, have warned that stamping out the coronavirus is not that simple. In fact, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, warned last week that we have something that turned out to be my worst nightmare, a reference to the viruss ability to spread rapidly.

On the call, Mr. Pence instructed Alex M. Azar II, the health secretary, to address the problem in a constructive way. Mr. Azar said that localized outbreaks at meatpacking plants and nursing homes would continue to be a focus for officials. If any of them light on fire, Mr. Azar said, weve got to get there right away.

Dr. Deborah L. Birx, who is coordinating the administrations response, reiterated that hospitalization rates for the virus had been declining across the country, though some states had seen an uptick.

Youre finding cases in the community rather than finding them in the clinic and the hospital, she said, adding that more people had been identified as asymptomatic or presymptomatic in recent weeks.

She said protest sites across the country had not yet seen a rise in coronavirus cases, though she said data had begun to show early upticks in Minneapolis.

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Pence Misleadingly Blames Coronavirus Spikes on Rise in Testing - The New York Times