Category Archives: Corona Virus

Heres one more behavior to be hyper-aware of in order to prevent coronavirus transmission: what you do after you use the toilet.

Scientists have found that in addition to clearing out whatever business youve left behind, flushing a toilet can generate a cloud of aerosol droplets that rises nearly three feet. Those droplets may linger in the air long enough to be inhaled by a shared toilets next user, or land on surfaces in the bathroom.

This toilet plume isnt just gross. In simulations, it can carry infectious coronavirus particles that are already present in the surrounding air or recently shed in a persons stool. The research, published Tuesday in the journal Physics of Fluids, adds to growing evidence that the coronavirus can be passed not only through respiratory droplets, but through virus-laden feces, too.

And while it remains unknown whether public or shared toilets are a common point of transmission of the virus, the research highlights the need during a pandemic to rethink some of the common spaces people share.

The aerosols generated by toilets are something that weve kind of known about for a while, but many people have taken for granted, said Joshua L. Santarpia, a professor of pathology and microbiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center who was not involved in the research. This study adds a lot of the evidence that everyone needs in order to take better action.

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Typically, the coronavirus is most at home in cells in the lungs and upper respiratory tract. But studies have found it can also dock to cell receptors in the small intestine. Patients have been reported to experience diarrhea, nausea and vomiting among other symptoms.

And researchers have found viable virus particles in patients feces, as well as traces of viral RNA on toilet bowls and sinks in their hospital isolation rooms, although experiments in the lab have suggested that material may be less likely to be infectious compared with virus that is coughed out.

A computer simulation of the toilet flushing mechanism showed that when water pours into the toilet and generates a vortex, it displaces air in the bowl. These vortices move upward and the centrifugal force pushes out about 6,000 tiny droplets and even tinier aerosol particles.

Depending on the number of inlets in the toilet, flushing can force anywhere from 40 to 60 percent of the produced aerosols high above the seat.

Its very alarming, said Ji-Xiang Wang, who studies fluid dynamics at Yangzhou University and was a co-author of the study.

Its virtually impossible to keep bathrooms sanitized all the time, and sharing a toilet may be unavoidable for family members, even when one person is sick and isolating in a separate room at home, Dr. Wang said.

As cities around the world navigate the reopening of restaurants, offices and other businesses, more and more people will also need to use public or shared restrooms. But while diners can be moved outdoors and employees spaced out, people may find it harder to practice social distancing in small bathrooms.

Aerosolized particles may still linger in single-use toilets, and bathrooms are frequently poorly ventilated spaces, which can increase the risk of exposure to infection. Users also have to consider risks from high-touch surfaces, like doorknobs and faucets.

Experience with other coronaviruses shows how quickly the fecal-oral route can lead to spread of disease. In March 2003, more than 300 people living in the Amoy Gardens apartment complex in Hong Kong got infected with the original SARS coronavirus because infectious fecal aerosols spread through faulty plumbing and ventilation systems.

While Dr. Wang acknowledged that scientists had yet to look at toilet aerosols in real-world situations involving the new coronavirus, other research has shown that viral RNA was found in shared toilet areas at one hospital in Wuhan, China.

But researchers do not know how much infectious virus is in aerosols or whether people with more severe cases of Covid-19 shed more virus than patients with milder illness, he said.

Thankfully, people can also easily prevent the spread of infections from the toilet plume.

Close the lid first and then trigger the flushing process, Dr. Wang said, which he acknowledged isnt always possible in public bathrooms.

Updated June 22, 2020

A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort and requires balancing benefits versus possible adverse events. Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. In my personal experience, he says, heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask. Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico.

The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth.

The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who dont typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the countrys largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave.

So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was very rare, but she later walked back that statement.

Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus whether its surface transmission or close human contact is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.

A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.

The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nations job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.

States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you arent being told to stay at home, its still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.

Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.

If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)

If youve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.

You should also wash your hands frequently and thoroughly, especially if youre using a shared restroom where the toilet doesnt have a lid or the flush is automatically triggered on standing up. Avoid touching your face, and keep your mask on in the bathroom, which could prevent some exposure to the coronavirus.

Dr. Wang hopes the new research will help lead to improvements in bathroom design, including increased attention to contactless dispensers for soap and paper towels, and toilets that flush only after they have been covered with a lid.

Other experts are already considering indoor ultraviolet lights and automated disinfectant sprays that will zap the coronavirus and relieve some of the pressure on keeping public toilets clean.

And Dr. Santarpia said that Dr. Wangs study could point to a way of monitoring coronavirus clusters.

You could simply monitor samples from a shared bathroom on a daily basis, he said. And if something were to come up positive, you could then go look at everyone who was there and who they had contact with, rather than testing everybody all the time.

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Flushing the Toilet May Fling Coronavirus Aerosols All Over - The New York Times

As cases and deaths rose earlier this spring in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, the countrys three largest cities, the outlook seemed much better in Houston, the fourth largest.

But this month, as new case reports plummeted around New York City and Chicago, they exploded around Houston. More than 1,100 new infections were reported both Friday and Saturday in Harris County, which includes most of Houston, by far the two highest daily totals there. Public health experts in Texas warned of a dire outlook. Houstons mayor, Sylvester Turner, pleaded with residents to wear masks.

The numbers are only getting worse, said Lina Hidalgo, Harris Countys top elected official, who spoke of significant, uncontrolled spread of the virus and very disturbing trends in hospitalizations. It is so crucial that all of us modify our behaviors, because that is the only thing that is going to keep us from going into a crisis.

For now, at least, Houston is faring better than its three larger peers. Its per capita infection rate is far lower than that of New York City; Los Angeles County, Calif.;and Cook County, Ill., which includes Chicago. Cook County, which is slightly larger than Harris County, has four times as many cases and 13 times as many deaths.

Still, the trends are alarming across most of Texas, where the economy began to reopen in early May. The states testing positivity rate is now approaching 9 percent, up about four percentage points from a month ago. More than 3,200 coronavirus patients are hospitalized statewide, the highest number yet, though many more hospital beds remain available. And in the Dallas area, one of several places seeing huge case growth, residents will soon be required to wear masks at businesses.

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Coronavirus Live News and Updates - The New York Times

For just one day, Beijing was a Covid-free city.

On Tuesday 9 June, local authorities reported that the last active Covid-19 case had been discharged from a local hospital. City health officials appeared without face masks at the daily press conference, to announce that there were no new cases and no suspected infections. Beijing, finally, seemed to breathe a little easier. The now-ubiquitous temperature checks, at the entrance to every office building, restaurant and hutong (alleyway), were dismantled. The Lama Temple and Beijing aquarium were open to the public for the first time since January and were immediately packed to capacity. It was a beautiful summers day bright blue skies and the sharp Beijing light that glints golden on the citys tower blocks.

On Wednesday 10 June, 52-year old Mr Tang feeling inexplicably cold and exhausted bicycled alone to a hospital for a checkup and tested positive for Covid-19. Beijings 56-day streak of no locally transmitted cases was broken, and all signs seemed to indicate that an outbreak had been quietly spreading through the city for weeks.

Two months of a slow crawl towards normal city life were reversed overnight. Beijing time travelled back to February. All residential compounds around Mr Tangs residence were put under strict lockdown, and the outbreaks origin was traced to the sprawling Xinfadi wholesale market, which supplies close to 80% of the citys fruit and vegetables.

The might of Chinas public health system, honed after public criticism of the early response to Wuhan, was brought to bear. Over 100,000 contacts were identified for testing, tracing and isolation, and thousands of samples taken from stalls around the market. Xinfadi was the perfect storm for an uncontrollable new wave. In the worst-case scenario, as the key hub for the citys food supply, it had first-degree connections to most restaurants, bars and community markets across Beijing. Expand that circle by one degree, and you had every delivery worker and every restaurant-goer as a potential vector for spread.

By 12 June, 36 cases linked to the Xinfadi market were discovered. Cases began to pop up elsewhere in the country, connected to Beijing. Chinas vice-premier called the situation grave, prompting fears of more sweeping lockdowns.

Relatively speaking, it was a small outbreak. By comparison, New York City reported 292 new cases on 12 June alone. Nevertheless, Beijing was put in what health officials called wartime mode to contain the virus, mobilising medical workers like troops against an insurgency. But who it felt like war for, in this case, was determined by social class and geographic proximity.

Many of the initial cluster of cases were working-class migrants: restaurant workers who lived in the same dormitory, seafood sellers, drivers. Thousands of frontline retail workers were tested over the next few days. Videos shared on WeChat showed many being made to wait shoulder-to-shoulder for hours in crowded stadiums and parks in the searing summer heat.

In exclusion zones around multiple Beijing markets, residential lockdowns and severed transport links were patrolled by battalions of hazmat-clad volunteers. But walk around the hutongs around Beijings Art Museum an area of upscale shops and restaurants and you could see that nothing was different: barbecue stalls spilled out into the street and raucous picnics continued with face masks around the chin.

A curious tension emerged between the need to project normality, and to show decisive action. Another full lockdown would be disastrous for Beijings economy, but so would an uncontrolled outbreak. For the citys service industries, this led to confusing mixed messages. Bars in some neighbourhoods were told to stay open as normal, then close, then open for a limited time contingent on testing, then close, all within hours.

For the rest of the city, a familiar mix of dread and powerlessness returned. Over 2 million tuned into the livestreams of the daily Covid-19 press conferences, with officials now wearing face masks again. Even the memes were melancholy a popular one featured a person marked Beijing, in full plate-mail armour like a medieval knight, who is then hit by a precise arrow, marked Xinfadi, right through the helmets eye socket. The shopping district of Sanlitun, which surely features the citys highest density of cafes per capita, took on a deserted look as bars and restaurants closed.

Beijing residents are used to the city changing suddenly before their eyes, but the pandemic and its lockdowns have produced a creeping feeling that something has been lost for good. Beijingers feel as if theyve emerged into a new city and started new lives. The particular liveliness associated with Beijing street life, exemplified by the word renao (), was the first thing to disappear in lockdown, and will likely be the last to return. The cornerstones of the citys renao: live music, nightclubs, cinemas, karaoke bars, lamb skewers around tiny plastic tables on the street are all closed until further notice.

Where a reopening seemed imminent a week ago, this resurgence has pushed that possibility out into a distant future. On 18 June, officials from Chinas Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that the outbreak was already under control, but the experience has already revived familiar fears that future plans are null and void, replaced by an endless present of doom-scrolling through social media for news and rumour.

A second wave opens the possibility of a third, and a fourth. In Beijing, a city that came so close to defeating the virus for good, that means whatever happens, we dont get to go back to the city we knew.

Krish Raghav is an illustrator and writer based in Beijing

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In Beijing it looked like coronavirus was gone. Now we're living with a second wave - The Guardian

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

People exercise in workout pods at Inspire South Bay Fitness, a gym in Redondo Beach, California, on Monday, June 15.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Sue Stamp fits a young girl with a new pair of shoes after W.J. French and Son reopened in Southampton, England, on June 15.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Floor supervisor Dumitru Carabasu sanitizes dice at Las Vegas' Excalibur Hotel & Casino on Thursday, June 11. It was reopening for the first time since mid-March.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Nail technicians perform manicures and pedicures at a nail bar in Moscow on June 9. The Russian capital ended a tight lockdown that had been in place since late March.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Commuters wear protective masks as they ride a subway train in New York on June 8.

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Parishioners are welcomed back to a Greek Orthodox church in Keilor East, Australia, on June 7. Religious services and gatherings for up to 20 people are now permitted in the state of Victoria.

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Visitors ride a roller coaster at the Universal Studios theme park in Orlando after it reopened on June 5.

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Customers stand on an escalator inside Le Printemps Haussmann, a department store in Paris, on May 28.

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A restorer cleans Michelangelo's David statue on May 27 while preparing for the reopening of the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence, Italy.

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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange after it reopened for in-person trading on May 26.

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A man dives into an outdoor swimming pool in Rome on May 25.

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Visitors take photos from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon shortly after sunrise on May 25. Grand Canyon National Park has partially reopened on weekends.

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Students in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, study at the Merlan school of Paillet on May 25.

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Tourists enjoy the hot weather at a beach in Bournemouth, England, on May 25.

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Visitors look at the work of artist Berlinde De Bruyckere at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, a contemporary art foundation in Turin, Italy, on May 23.

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Jasmine Donaldson cleans a movie theater in Auckland, New Zealand, on May 22. Matakana Cinemas reopened May 28 with a reduced capacity to allow for social distancing between seats and in the foyer.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Chinese Communist Party delegates stand for the national anthem at the opening of the National People's Congress on May 22. The annual parliamentary gathering had been postponed.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

People visit the ARoS Museum of Art in Aarhus, Denmark, on May 22. The museum opened its doors to the public after being closed for two months.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Surfers take to the water in Lido Beach, New York, on May 21.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

People visit the reopened Blaavand Zoo in Denmark on May 21.

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People swim at a public pool in Cologne, Germany, on May 21.

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Christian Orthodox faithfuls attend a liturgy in Athens, Greece, on May 20.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

People visit Florida's Clearwater Beach on May 20. Florida opened its beaches as part of Phase 1 of its reopening.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

People walk in Naples, Italy, on May 19.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

People enjoy the water as Florida's Palm Beach County reopened some beaches on May 18. Social-distancing rules were still in effect.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Nuns await a Mass in Rome on May 18. It was the first Mass celebrated by parish priest Marco Gnavi in more than two months.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

A worker wears protective gear while cutting a customer's hair at a salon in Nadiad, India, on May 17. India's lockdown was set to remain in place until May 31, but many salons and shops were able to reopen.

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Police walk through New York's Hudson River Park with a reminder about social distancing on May 16.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Swimmers pay for sunbeds at the Alimos beach near Athens, Greece, on May 16.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

A customer buys eggs at a market in Kunming, China, on May 12.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

A woman takes a photo at Disneyland Shanghai after the amusement park reopened in China on May 11. The park had been closed for three and a half months. Visitors are now required to wear masks, have their temperatures taken and practice social distancing.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

People eat fries on the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, on May 10.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

People exercise on a reopened promenade next to a beach in Barcelona, Spain, on May 9.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Patrons eat at a restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 9.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Fans cheer during a professional baseball game between the Fubon Guardians and the Uni-President Lions in New Taipei City, Taiwan, on May 8.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Traci Hancock has her hair cut by stylist Jill Cespedes at Shampoo Salon in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 8. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that hair salons, barber shops and tanning salons were allowed to open on Friday.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

A long line of cars forms as a KFC drive-thru reopens in Plymouth, England, on May 8.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Sue Conklin, owner of Books Rio V, stocks her shelves in Rio Vista, California, on May 8. It was her first day back at the used bookstore since March 28.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

A man receives a haircut at Doug's Barber Shop in Houston on May 8.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Two men wearing face masks play chess in Montevideo, Uruguay, on May 7.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

People enjoy a beach that had just reopened in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, on May 6.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

People stand on social-distancing markers at a Mercedes-Benz car dealership in Brussels, Belgium, on May 6.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Kelly Watson puts glass in a recycling bin in Springfield, Missouri, on May 6, The Lone Pine Recycling Center had just reopened.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Customers wait to get their nails done at the Nail Tech salon in Yuba City, California, on May 6.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

A man wears a protective face mask while visiting the Old Masters Picture Gallery in Dresden, Germany, on May 6. The gallery had been closed for more than six weeks.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

People in Athens, Greece, enjoy a sunset May 5 on the Areopagus hill near the Acropolis.

Here are the areas that are starting to reopen

Kayleigh Tansey and Justin Smith watch a movie in Kyle, Texas, on May 4. The EVO Entertainment movie theater reopened after Gov. Greg Abbott lifted a shelter-in-place order and allowed select businesses to open to the public at no more than 25% capacity.

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Russia reopens ahead of Victory Day and Putin referendum -- but coronavirus threat remains - CNN

Donald Trump told thousands of supporters on Saturday that he had asked US officials to slow down testing for Covid-19 because case numbers in the country were rising so rapidly.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the US president used racist language, referring to Covid-19 as kung flu, and described testing for the virus as a double-edged sword because it led to the identification of more cases.

The US had now tested 25 million people, far more than other countries, Trump said, adding: When you do testing to that extent, youre gonna find more people, youre gonna find more cases. So I said to my people slow the testing down.

A White House official later told Reuters that Trump was joking.

Across the US, more than 119,654 people are confirmed to have been killed by Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University. It remains the country worst hit by coronavirus, followed by Brazil, which now has more than a million cases, and Russia, which has 576,162 infections.

Trump said the radical fake news media had not given him credit for doing what he called a phenomenal job of responding to the outbreak.

The campaign rally in Tulsa went ahead despite warnings from health officials that it risked fuelling a spike in coronavirus cases. The crowd was smaller than expected, with many empty sections in the 19,000-seat arena, but few attendees wore masks.

Globally, 8,753,853 coronavirus cases have now been recorded and 463,281 fatalities confirmed, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The death toll in Chile rose especially sharply on Saturday, almost doubling to more than 7,000, after the government adjusted its data to include deaths that are probably linked to Covid-19. Official figures show there have been 236,748 infections in the country so far.

Meanwhile, several countries have reintroduced social curbs, or are considering doing so, to protect against a second wave of cases.

In Victoria, Australias second most populous state, case numbers are the highest they have been in more than two months, prompting the Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton to warn: We are absolutely at risk of a second peak.

The state has extended its state of emergency for another four weeks and limited the number of guests permitted to visit peoples homes to five. Plans to relax rules on the number of customers allowed in cafes, restaurants and pubs have also been put on hold.

German health officials have also reported a rise in transmission, following clusters of cases linked to meatpacking plants, logistics centres, and refugee shelters.

Greece has also announced another extension of the coronavirus lockdown on its migrant camps, despite warnings that migrants rights are being undermined by the restrictions.

The Palestinian Authority is among those tightening restrictions, after announcing on Saturday that it would temporarily close the cities of Hebron and Nablus in the occupied West Bank, following a sharp rise in infections.

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said he was considering making it mandatory within days to wear masks in public places, after the tally of confirmed coronavirus cases passed 200,000.

The developments follow last weeks warning from the head of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, that the world had entered a new and dangerous phase of the coronavirus pandemic.

Countries are understandably eager to open up their societies and economies but the virus is still spreading fast, it is still deadly and most people are still susceptible, he said on Friday. We call on all countries and all people to exercise extreme vigilance.

In other developments:

China reported 26 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Sunday, driven by the outbreak linked to a wholesale food centre in the south-west of Beijing.

The Philippines reported 578 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, a record number. This includes test results that were released to patients over the past three days.

Two new Covid-19 cases have been detected in New Zealand, according to the Ministry of Health. One is the child of the couple returning from Delhi who were revealed as cases on Saturday, the second is a 59-year-old woman who also returned from Delhi, but at a later date on June 15.

Serbians go to polls on Sunday to elect a new parliament in Europes first national election since coronavirus lockdowns took effect some three months ago.

An Italian collective brought 67 migrants to safety on Saturday, as the first charity rescue ship reached Italian shores since authorities had decided to close all ports because of the coronavirus pandemic in April.

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Global report: Trump says he ordered coronavirus testing to 'slow down' - The Guardian

The coronavirus is crippling Tampa Bays live-music scene.

The owners of the Orpheum in Ybor City and Skippers Smokehouse in North Tampa all announced on Instagram Saturday that employees testing positive for the coronavirus or fears that staffers had been exposed to the virus forced them to temporarily shut down their venues.

Thats also why Crowbar announced it cancelled Saturdays grand re-opening in Ybor City.

The news comes after St. Petersburgs Jannus Live announced Tuesday that it temporarily shuttered three of its businesses around the outdoor concert venue the Pelican Pub, the Landing and Detroit Liquors after an employee member tested positive for COVID-19. That also meant postponing Friday nights Pirate Flag concert.

The owners of Crowbar, the Orpheum and Skippers used social media to tell their fans to stay away until further notice.

Meanwhile in Ybor City, hundreds walked around Saturday night without masks.

Nor did they wear them in bars, clubs and restaurants potentially violating Tampa Mayor Jane Castors order requiring residents who leave their homes to wear masks indoors if they cannot stay 6-feet apart. The measure took effect Friday.

On the other side of the bay, while protesters marched through downtown St. Petersburg, more patrons wore masks and sat outside.

The latest local closings comes on the heels of the states highest single-day report of positive tests, at 4,049 and the average age of those being diagnosed is getting younger.

The Orpheums owner said it closed because two employees tested positive for COVID-19. They last worked on June 13 and were asymptomatic. The entire staff was getting tested but there was no timeline yet for re-opening.

We believe we are doing the right thing in the interest of public health at this time, the owners of the Orpheum said on Instagram.

Crowbar owner Tom DeGeorge said he had hoped to be able to reopen Saturday after being closed since March. But when he learned that an employees was in contact with someone who tested positive, he said he called off the Road to Reopen event and told his entire staff to go get tested.

Were going to wait until we see these numbers going in a downward trend and then well reopen, DeGeorge said.

He lamented that, while in the waiting room to take his own test Saturday, he saw a video of a metal concert where the audience was in the mosh pit not practicing any social distancing.

He said its difficult for a responsible business to get back on track, when others are just doing whatever they want.

Skippers owners said on Instagram that they learned through contract tracing that a staffer may have been exposed to someone who tested positive. Theyve also been watching the coronavirus trends, and decided that closing was the most socially responsible thing to do.

A monetary amount, good times, delicious meals and tasty cocktails will never be more valuable than your life to us, they wrote. Therefore, we are erring on the side of extreme safety in this case.

View this post on Instagram

Urgent Update : : : Effective today and for the unforeseeable future, we are CLOSED. We will continue to post updates to social media as a reopen date becomes available. Why are we closing? : : : This morning, the Skipper's Smokehouse ownership and management have been notified that one of our employees was alerted through contact tracing that they may have been exposed to COVID-19 - this in addition to our carefully watching the numbers of positive cases and trends rise dramatically over the course of the past several days, we feel closing immediately is the most socially responsible thing for us to do to keep not only our staff but our patrons as safe as we possibly can. At this time, NONE of our staff have tested positive for COVID-19 - but, the contact trace alert is concerning to us. : : : What you can expect before we reopen? It will be required that ALL employees that work on site be tested for COVID-19 and be symptom free before returning to work. In addition to that, we will be performing extra deep cleaning processes during the closure and upon reopening. : : : We have worried this day would arrive for us and it has. There comes a time when being socially responsible and putting health, well being and safety above business as almost usual is the absolute right thing to do. A monetary amount, good times, delicious meals and tasty cocktails will never be more valuable than your life to us. Therefore, we are erring on the side of extreme safety in this case. : : : We are here to answer any questions or concerns our patrons might have - again, NO ONE has tested positive on our staff. If you have questions or concerns, you can contact us at cricket@skipperssmokehouse.com : : : We love you all so much. We appreciate just shy of four decades of your support. Now, we ask that those who disagree with this decision respect our choice to be socially responsible. Peace, Love, Good Health & Oysters

A post shared by (@skipperssmokehouse) on Jun 20, 2020 at 9:19am PDT

Other bay area businesses, such as Rollin Oats Market and Cafe and Noble Crust in St. Petersburg, have temporarily shut their doors, as well, after employees tested positive for the virus.

Before Castor dropped her mask order in Tampa, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman ordered that employees of all city businesses must wear masks.

In his Instagram post, Crowbars owner said:

I am extremely disappointed, but Id be much more disappointed with myself if I were to try and go forward in light of this new information, he wrote. Be safe out there, folks.

Times staff writers Divya Kumar and Josh Fiallo contributed to this report.

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Coronavirus shuts down Crowbar, the Orpheum and Skippers Smokehouse - Tampa Bay Times

A person on a scooter rides past a JPMorgan Chase & Co. bank branch in New York, U.S., on Thursday, June 11, 2020.

Jeenah Moon | Bloomberg | Getty Images

It's the banking world's version of the rich getting richer.

A record $2 trillion surge in cash hit the deposit accounts of U.S. banks since the coronavirus first struck the U.S. in January, according to FDIC data.

The wall of money flowing into banks has no precedent in history: in April alone, deposits grew by $865 billion, more than the previous record for an entire year.

The gains were all driven, in one way or another, by the response to the pandemic: The government unleashed hundreds of billions of dollars to bolster small businesses and individuals via stimulus checks and unemployment benefits. The Federal Reserve began a barrage of efforts to support financial markets, including an unlimited bond buying program. And an uncertain future prompted decision makers, from two-person households to global corporations, to horde cash.

More than two-thirds of the gains went to the 25 biggest institutions, according to the FDIC. And that was concentrated at the very top of the industry: JPMorgan Chase, Bank of AmericaandCitigroup,the biggest U.S. banks by assets, grew much faster than the rest of the industry in the first quarter, according to company data.

"Any way you look at it, this growth has been absolutely extraordinary," said Brian Foran, an analyst at Autonomous Research. "Banks are flooded with cash, they're like Scrooge McDuck swimming in money."

There are several reasons why the American megabanks survivors of the last crisis in 2008 were the main beneficiaries of the deposits bonanza. When states began instituting shutdowns in March, corporations including Boeing and Ford immediately drew tens of billions of dollars from lines of credit, and that money was initially parked at the banks making those loans.

Big banks also serviced a large chunk of customers in the Paycheck Protection Program, the government's $660 billion effort to prop up small businesses. Since lenders mostly catered to existing customers, the money first landed in bank accounts of the firms that facilitated the loans.

Institutions known as trust banks, which are custodians for the investments of asset managers like BlackRock or Fidelity, gained deposits when the Fed bond buying program snapped up billions of dollars of mortgage backed securities. JPMorgan and Citigroup have large custody divisions.

And of course, the megabanks simply have the most U.S. retail customers; ordinary people with few options to spend money while sheltering at home. The personal savings rate hit a record 33% in April, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said last month. Personal income actually climbed 10.5% that month, thanks to $1,200 stimulus checks and unemployment benefits that totaled more than a worker's regular income in some cases.

All that money flowed into bank accounts. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan told CNBC last month that checking accounts below $5,000 in balances actually had up to 40% more money in them than before the pandemic.

Megabanks, with their coast-to-coast networks of branches, have relied on plentiful deposits as a key advantage in the post-financial crisis era. They are one of the cheapest sources of funding for loans, helping the industry mint record profits even in a time of low interest rates.

But banks, which will be cautious lending money in the midst of a recession, are running out of uses for their growing mountain of cash, according to Foran.

"A lot of banks are saying, `There's frankly not much we can do with it right now'," he said. "They have more deposits than they know what to do with."

If the deposit boom is merely one sign of the steps taken to blunt the financial harm from the pandemic, it remains to be seen what the ultimate consequences are for the government's historic spending binge. Some experts see a collapse in the dollar coupled with higher inflation. Others see a stock market bubble in the making.

One consequence for savers will be more immediate, says Foran: Banks are sure to lower their already paltry interest rates, since they don't need more of your money.

With contributions from CNBC's Nate Rattner.

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U.S. banks are 'swimming in money' as deposits increase by $2 trillion amid the coronavirus - CNBC

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.

HOW CORONAVIRUS IS SPREADING IN FLORIDA: Find the latest numbers for your county, city or zip code.

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

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.

Read more:

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

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."

Read more:

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