Category Archives: Covid-19

KNOXVILLE (WATE) A former University of Tennessee football player was recently diagnosed with COVID-19.

VFL Chavis Smith is back home following a stay in the hospital, and hes opening up about the diagnosis.

The chills, the shakes, the body aches. My temperature flew up to like almost 104, something like that. So, it was rough, said Smith.

Smith says hes feeling much better. Hes back home and in quarantine after spending a few days in the hospital.

It was there, he says, that he got his positive test.

I literally thought I was dying. I was like oh my God, I cannot breathe, I felt like someone was suffocating me, it was so bad. My wife was like Hey you know what, lets go to the emergency room.' Smith said. They put me on some IV, started giving me steroid shots put me on oxygen. I started feeling better, moving around a lot better.

Smith says the experience taught him a valuble lesson.

It made me realize life is way too important to not wear a mask or do the simple things to try to prevent others from getting sick, said Smith.

He now has a message to pass along.

Do whatever you can to keep people safe. I look at my situation, and Im like, I have a family and kids, I want to live a long life with them. I want them to live a long life. If I can do that to help that happen, or better their chances, by all means, Ill do it. If wearing a mask can prevent someone from being sick, then yes, do that. Take it serious, he said.

Smith says he still has about 10 days of quarantine left.

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Former Vol reveals battle with COVID-19 - WATE 6 On Your Side

A half year of pandemic purgatory has left Washington workers and businesses struggling, and schools in limbo. Total case numbers in the state have risen to 51,849, with deaths at 1,494, as of Friday night, with significant racial and geographic disparities. Testing remains insufficient and the future is hard to predict.

Throughout Sunday, on this page, well post Seattle Times journalists updates on the outbreak and its effects on the Seattle area, the Pacific Northwest and the world. Updates from Saturday can be found here, and all our coronavirus coverage can be found here.

The State Department of Health reported 786 new COVID-19 cases in Washington as of Saturday night, and seven additional deaths.

The latest numbers, released Sunday, bring the total count to 52,635 cases with 1,501 deaths. That means 2.9% of people who have been diagnosed with the virus in Washington have died.

This week, Washington state is at a turning point where the outbreak could explode, as in Florida, or might flatten so that hospitals avoid becoming overwhelmed. Read our special Sunday report that explains why "there's no certain end in sight," and some deadly inequities. Hispanic residents account for 43% of cases while only 13% of the state population.

There have been 15,673 more tests reported for the coronavirus in Washington, according to DOH, of which 5% came back positive.

The state's most populous county, King County has seen the highest numbers, reaching 14,417 diagnoses and 644 deaths, as of Saturday. Yakima County, which has been a hot spot, has had 9,629 cases and 194 deaths. In Okanogan County, another farming area where cases are spiking, there have been 605 confirmed cases and 2 deaths.

The data is as of 11:59 p.m. Saturday.

Heidi Groover, Mike Lindblom

Vancouver, B.C. - After crowds at a drum circle filled a Stanley Park beach this week, an artist installed a sign of their health officer, as a reminder to socially distance.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, who projects logic and calm in her daily COVID-19 briefings, is known affectionately as "Aunt Bonnie." Yet she scowls on a stencil by a Vancouver mural artist, who told CBC News it was "a gentle reminder that although we might be over COVID, it's not over us."

British Columbia has waged a relatively strong struggle against coronavirus, though it now faces an uptick. Health authorities reported 27 new cases Friday, with three people currently under intensive hospital care. They count 3,419 cumulative cases and 119 deaths, compared to 51,849 cases and 1,494 deaths in Washington state.

Read the report by CBC here.

Mike Lindblom

Public health experts say masking is essential for the U.S. to climb out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The outbreak has spread to more than 4.1 million and killed more than 145,000 in the country, crippled the economy and thrown the upcoming school year into chaos.

But broad skepticism of masks remains, largely along party lines, with polls showing that Republicans are less likely to wear masks than Democrats or independent voters.

One skeptic, Texan Don Caple, thinks masks are a "communistic move" by the government, but will still sell you one for $10. Read more.

Los Angeles Times

Two weeks after Disney World started opening theme parks for the first time since closing in March because of COVID-19, Disney World's future and that of central Florida's tourism-reliant economy are uncertain. It's unclear when and if tourists will return.

More than 75 million visitors came to Orlando in 2018, mostly due to its reputation as a theme park mecca, which also includes Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando. But the coronavirus has upended Orlandos status as the most visited place in the U.S.

In the week that Disney Worlds Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom started welcoming back visitors, occupancy of hotel rooms in the Orlando area was down more than 60% from the previous year, a much deeper drop than the state as a whole, according to STR, which tracks hotel data.

Less than half of Disney Worlds 43,000 unionized workers have been recalled to their old jobs, contributing to two Orlando-area counties having the states highest unemployment rates last month.

Will visitors ever come back?

Associated Press

A tiny Italian island braced for the rapid spread of the coronavirus after several visitors had fallen ill with COVID-19.

But days passed and none of Giglios islanders developed any COVID-19 symptoms even though the conditions seemed favorable for the disease to spread like wildfire.

The Gigliesi, as the residents are known, socialize in the steep alleys near the port or on the granite steps that serve as narrow streets in the hilltop Castle neighborhood, with densely packed homes built against the remnants of a fortress erected centuries ago to protect against pirates.

A cancer researcher stuck on the island decided to try to find out why the virus wasn't spreading on the island. Read more about what she found.

Associated Press

Turmoil is universal in the wake of the pandemic, but the despair is particularly pronounced in the Middle East, where wave after wave of war, displacement and disease have left a generation feeling bitter and hopeless.

While in the West, many who have become unemployed believe they will eventually get their jobs back or somehow recover from the recession, the pandemic in some Arab countries was the final blow to economies now on the cusp of complete collapse.

The strains are also made harder because, in the Arab world, lives for young adults tend to be more scripted than for their counterparts in the West. Cultural expectations put more pressure on males to earn enough so they can move out, marry and provide for families.

For many young people, seeing economies crumble the way that they are and seeing their prospects vanish before their eyes its undoubtedly going to be taking a huge toll on mental health and well-being, said Tariq Haq, a Beirut-based senior employment specialist with the U.N. labor agency.

Read the full story here.

Associated Press

WASHINGTON House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday assailed Republican disarray over a new pandemic relief package as the White House suggested a narrower effort might be necessary, at least for now.

The California Democrat panned the Trump administrations desire to trim an expiring temporary federal unemployment benefit from $600 weekly to about 70% of pre-pandemic wages. The reason we had $600 was its simplicity, she said from the Capitol.

The administrations chief negotiators White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were returning to the Capitol later Sunday to put what Meadows described as final touches on a $1 trillion relief bill Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is likely to bring forward Monday.

Both Mnuchin and Meadows said narrower legislation might need to be passed first to ensure that enhanced unemployment benefits dont run out for millions of Americans. Pelosi has said she opposes approving a relief package in piecemeal fashion.

Read more about the negotiations here.

Associated Press

The global coronavirus pandemic has magnified the stakes in races for the Washington state House and Senate.

When they return as scheduled in January, state lawmakers will likely face excruciating decisions on taxes and spending to balance an $8.8 billion projected state budget shortfall through 2023. The new class of legislators will also consider policing reforms in light of the protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd.

They must also grapple with Washingtons persistent preexisting problems, such as homelessness and housing affordability, and continuing to rebuild the states struggling mental-health care system.

All 98 House seats are up for election, along with 26 Senate seats. Ballots started going out two weeks ago.

See how key races are playing out.

Joseph O'Sullivan

Six months since the first person in Washington the first person in the nation tested positive for the novel coronavirus, health officials are saying werein an explosive situation.

Our health care system isnt being overwhelmed. But we have not suppressed the virus. Experts say we may be where Florida currently one of the hardest-hit states with infections was several weeks ago. Poised to see all the charts and curves go the wrong way, but not too late to stop them.

In Washington, more people are diagnosed each day than ever, partly because more people can get a test but also because the virus continues spreading.

The pandemic has cast a spotlight on the deadly inequities in our state, as COVID-19 has disproportionately sickened Hispanic people, who account for 43% of cases but just 13% of the population.

Schools, businesses, hospitalizations: Heres whats going well in Washington state, whats not, and what might come next.

Seattle Times staff

People whove been laid off or furloughed from their jobs now have significantly more time to decide whether to hang on to their employer-sponsored health insurance, according to a recent federal rule.

Under the federal law known as COBRA, people who lose job-based coverage because of a layoff or a reduction in hours generally have 60 days to decide whether to continue health insurance. But under the new rule, that clock doesnt start ticking until the end of the COVID-19 outbreak period, which started March 1 and continues for 60 days after the COVID-19 national emergency ends. That end date hasnt been determined yet.

By extending the time frame to sign up for COBRA coverage, people have at least 120 days to decide whether they want to elect COBRA, and possibly longer depending on when they lost their jobs.

Some health policy experts question the usefulness of the change, given how expensive COBRA coverage can be for consumers, and how limited its reach: It isnt an option for people who are uninsured or self-employed or who work for small companies.

In Washington state, residents may find more affordable plans through the Washington Health Benefit Exchange.

For ideological reasons, this administration cant do anything to expand on the Affordable Care Acts safety net, said Sabrina Corlette, a research professor at Georgetown Universitys Center on Health Insurance Reforms. So theyre using these other vehicles. But its really a fig leaf. It doesnt do much to actually help people.

Read the full story here.

Kaiser Health News

It's been a week of retreat for President Donald Trump as he backs down from long-held positions related to the pandemic after polls showed they didn't align with public attitudes or, in at least one case, his Republican allies.

Federal public health officials have released a new strategy that vows to improve data collection and take steps to address stark inequalities in how the disease is affecting Americans.

Baseball is back, with masked players and stands full of empty seats or cardboard cutouts. See photos from around the league, and catch up with the Mariners.

Washington's restaurants have largely been left to self-police if employees get COVID-19. Restaurateurs say direction from state and county health officials has been spotty. And now, with new rules limiting indoor dining to "members of the same household," they've again been left to figure out how to enforce ever-evolving safety policies.

Around the world:

Seattle Times staff & news services

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Coronavirus daily news updates, July 26: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the world - Seattle Times

A health worker puts a nasal swab sample into a tube in a tent at a COVID-19 testing site at St. John's Well Child and Family Center in Los Angeles. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

A health worker puts a nasal swab sample into a tube in a tent at a COVID-19 testing site at St. John's Well Child and Family Center in Los Angeles.

For the fifth consecutive day, there were more than 1,000 deaths from the coronavirus in the United States and infections haven't shown signs of significantly slowing, according to the COVID Tracking Project. More than 145,000 people in the country have died from the virus and more than 4,000,000 people have been infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New daily cases are increasing in 46 states. Among them are California, which reported its highest number of single-day deaths on Thursday. In Indiana there were 934 new cases and 11 deaths on Saturday and Montana reported its highest daily number of cases on Saturday with 224 new cases.

Louisiana reported more than 2,000 new cases, 29 deaths and 15 hospitalizations on Friday alone, NOLA reported. In total, there are more than 103,000 cases and 3,600 deaths in the state, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. In response to the increase, Gov. John Bel Edwards extended phase two of the state's reopening for another 28 days.

"It is clear that COVID is alive and well in Louisiana, and as we see more people testing positive and admitted to hospitals, we simply are not ready to move to the next phase, and ease restrictions further as businesses open widely," Edwards said in a statement.

Mississippi, another state experiencing an uptick of cases, imposed a mask mandate on multiple additional counties, on top of the original 13 counties that already had mask mandates, this week. On Saturday, the state saw 1,434 new cases and 17 new deaths. In total, the state has more than 49,000 cases and 1,400 deaths.

"We are still in the middle of our most painful period of COVID-19 spread to date," Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Friday, according to the Sun Herald. "We have to slow the spread to prevent our health care system from becoming overwhelmed."

Over the past 24 hours, there have been nearly 2,000 additional cases in Alabama. Currently, there are more than 76,000 cases in the state and 1,400 deaths, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, Nevada just had its deadliest week from the virus. In total, there have been 41,816 cases and 732 deaths in the state, according to the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.

Arizona reported more than 3,700 new COVID-19 cases and 144 more deaths on Saturday. On average, the state has seen some decline in the number of cases since spikes in June and early July.

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COVID-19 Cases Continue To Surge In States Across The U.S. - NPR

OGDEN Next month, when students, faculty and staff return to Ben Lomond High School following an extended absence caused by the global pandemic, one of their own will be missing.

According to her obituary, on June 23, COVID-19 claimed the life of Darla Checketts, 58, a family and consumer science teacher at the school.

Tammy Brown-Johansen, who also teaches FACS classes at Ben Lomond, has been a friend and neighbor of Checketts for more than two decades. She doubts that the word got out to all the students, so it will be a difficult time when they return to school and Ms. Checketts is nowhere to be found.

Its going to be rough when the students come back and go, Well, where is she?, Brown-Johansen said. Theyll have questions. Some of them, these inner-city kids, bond with these teachers, and this will be hard.

Its a tragedy; its horrible. For the family, its devastating, but for us ... Brown-Johansen said, trailing off.

After Checketts died, Brown-Johansen remembers being at the school one day when she ran into a couple of the student custodians who clean the building over the summer.

One of the custodians was one of Darlas students, Brown-Johansen recalls. I told her Darla passed, and this cute little student contacted all her friends, and they collected money to have a tree planted in the forest in her name.

Some of those students showed up at Checketts viewing.

And then they gave me the $60 left over from their collection for me to give it to the family, Brown-Johansen said.

For these students many from lower-income families that donation represented a lot of money, Brown-Johansen said.

STERLING SCHOLAR

According to her obituary, Darla Jean Payne Checketts was born Jan. 20, 1962, in Ontario, Oregon, the oldest of four children. She grew up in Kaysville, graduating from Davis High School in 1980, and was chosen as the Sterling Scholar in home economics.

Beginning at age 14, Checketts spent nine summers working in West Yellowstone, Montana, with the goal of paying for all her college expenses, according to the obituary. Her plan worked, and she graduated from Utah State University with a bachelors degree in home economics education.

A fan of the Peace Corps, Checketts spent two years teaching home economics at a high school in Sierra Leone, West Africa. She later taught at the high school in Malad City, Idaho, for five years.

In 1989, Checketts married Cameron Checketts in the Logan Temple, and they raised five children at their home in West Point. She was a stay-at-home mother, working at a local preschool when her children were at school.

Brown-Johansen says she and Checketts had a lot in common they lived in the same neighborhood, their daughters were the same age, and the two women had studied the same major in college.

It was Brown-Johansen who approached Checketts about a teaching job at Ben Lomond High.

As her kids got older and her youngest, twin boys were in high school, we were in need of another family and consumer science teacher, Brown-Johansen said. It was a part-time position, and Darla only wanted to work part time. I asked her to please come and work with the students at Ben Lomond.

For five years, Checketts worked with Brown-Johansen and two other teachers in the FACS department at the school. She knew how to help students who were struggling in an academic setting, her colleagues say.

SILENT LEADER

Ben Lomond High Principal Steve Poll remembers Checketts as a quiet but powerful force at the school.

She was not one of those teachers who has a loud, big presence on campus, he said. She was more of a silent leader.

Poll said Checketts chose to teach half-time at the school every other day so she could spend time with family.

She still liked to teach, but she also wanted to be there for her grandkids, Poll said.

Poll praised Checketts strong connection with her students. He said she was one of those dedicated teachers who would sacrifice her own personal time to help her charges.

Makenzie Thompson, who also teaches in the FACS department at Ben Lomond, frequently saw that personal sacrifice in action. In a social media post after Checketts death, Thompson wrote: There were many lunches where she wouldnt take a break because she was busy tutoring or letting students retake tests. ... She worked diligently to empower and teach her students enough so they could make better futures for themselves.

Thompson also praised Checketts organizational skills, calling her the most organized teacher I have ever met.

The poor dear had to share a classroom with me this past year and let me just say that I have kind of embraced the chaos of glitter everywhere and students leaving their stuff in each crevice like its their bedroom, Thompson said. Despite this, Darla just went with the flow and made the best of the situation.

ALL ABOUT FAMILY

Brown-Johansen echoes the organized-yet-laid-back vibe of her friend. She said that although Checketts was incredibly clean and organized, shed let her whole house get messed up playing with the grandkids.

Theyd be making something in the kitchen, and thered be flour all over the place, Brown-Johansen said. But it was OK, because her grandkids were with her.

On the day Thompson posted her social media tribute to the person she called her sweet friend/work mom, she and Brown-Johansen had just gone through Checketts classroom, collecting her personal belongings to return them to her family.

Darla did not have many personal items at the school, Thompson wrote. They all fit in 1 box, but in that single box there were 3 framed pictures of her family.

Thompson says that showed Checketts priorities. She loves her children and husband so much and I know that she will continue to love and watch out for them, she wrote.

However, both Thompson and Brown-Johansen say their friend saw her students as her kids as well.

My only thing Id want people to know is that she really, really, really cared about the kids at school, Brown-Johansen said. Thats the thing about working at Ben Lomond. Its not a job; its a stewardship. If its not about the kids, youre not doing it right. And she knew that, and she did it right.

WHAT HAPPENED?

According to Brown-Johansen, Checketts son had recently returned home from an LDS mission.

He was the first one sick, then she got it, and then her husband got it, she said. I didnt even know she was ill. She was only ill one week.

Brown-Johansen said Checketts had gone to the doctor the night before she died because she wasnt feeling well and said she couldnt breathe.

They knew she had it ... but they sent her home; they didnt think she needed to be hospitalized, Brown-Johansen said.

The next day, her condition worsened. Her son, whod been frequently checking on her, decided to take her back to the hospital.

He went in to get her to take her to the emergency room and she was gone, Brown-Johansen said.

Brown-Johansen remembers the last time she was with her friend. It was June 2, just three weeks before her death, and the teachers in the FACS department were meeting at the school to deep-clean the kitchen in the foods lab at the school. She doesnt specifically remember their final conversation, but shes fairly certain it had to do with either kids or school.

It was always either talking about her children, or my children, or the kids at school, she said. Thats what we mostly talked about.

COVID WAKE-UP CALL

Thompson says shes taken the opportunity of her friends death to refresh her commitment to following the recommended safety guidelines during the pandemic including wearing face masks and maintaining social distance in public.

Even though the percentage of COVID-19 cases compared to the general population may not seem scary to some, please know that the family and friends of that percentage of peoples lives have been altered forever, she writes.

Adds Brown-Johansen: This has been a wake-up call to those who think COVID-19 isnt real.

Poll, the principal at Ben Lomond, said the personal nature of the loss makes it a bit more real for everyone involved.

The thing that makes it seem a little more concerning is that it was somebody that we actually know, Poll said. Its not a news story, its not somebody in New York, its not a number or a statistic its somebody you know.

Poll said he realizes that some educators may be uncomfortable about going back into the classroom this fall, but he said district and school administrators have been attacking the problem for months now.

I can see teachers being more concerned because they havent been in on the day-to-day planning, Poll said. But the administration, weve worked on it all summer long, and we have a good plan.

Still, Poll said Checketts death has been a shock to the entire community.

It definitely hits home, he said.

A viewing for Checketts was held July 10 in Layton; a graveside service followed the next day at the West Point City Cemetery.

Brown-Johansen said she feels empty and cried forever over the loss of her friend.

It was like losing my sister, she said. Honestly, it makes me sad to talk about her, but it also makes me sad not to talk about her.

As for Thompson, she said the family and consumer science department at Ben Lomond High will be forever altered.

Even though Ive only known Darla for 4 years, I feel like its been much longer, she wrote in her online tribute. I dread returning to school without my friend. Our team will not be the same without her.

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Ben Lomond High teacher, victim of COVID-19, remembered as caring educator - Standard-Examiner

Robert and Janice Beecham have been married for 46 years, and this year they are happy to be recovering after a spring full of turmoil.

"It's a blessing to be here because a lot of people didn't make it," Janice told CNN.

Robert Beecham said he and Janice had been following the safety rules but he started to feel symptoms of Covid-19. A week and a half later he still wasn't feeling well so the couple got tested for the virus.

The next day, on March 25, he called his son and agreed to be taken to the hospital.

"He knew me agreeing without a fight meant that I was feeling pretty terrible," he said.

His anniversary was a motive to get home

Robert was admitted to Parkland Hospital in Dallas alone, and found out the next day that he was COVID-19 positive. He was moved to another floor and started his road to recovery, a feat he attributes to his doctor, Satyam Nayak.

"Dr. Nayak and I would open up casual conversations and it would take my mind off the virus," he said.

Robert told the doctor about having two strokes, one in 2012 and 2016, and missing out on an anniversary. He found himself in the same situation this year, so Nayak decided to use that as motivation to get him home.

Nayak came up with a plan where Robert could go home and get the care he needed from his wife. He made it home in time for their April 15 anniversary.

Janice has a positive test of her own

Meanwhile, Janice had just recovered from having surgery in February after finding out about a second battle with breast cancer and a new diagnosis with ovarian cancer. She also tested positive for COVID-19, but luckily, she told CNN, her symptoms were mild.

"Once I got home, and we did the quarantine, I was getting progressively better but Janice still had issues with her health," Robert said.

"We're best friends, it was just tough," Robert told CNN.

Because of her diagnosis, Janice had not yet started the chemo treatments required for her cancer diagnoses.

Now, after surviving two surgeries, two coronavirus diagnoses, chemo and being declared cancer free, the Beechams only have one thing to say.

"It would have been impossible to make it with all the odds against you without God, and he has been our help, all these many years," Robert said.

Janice still has preventative radiation coming up, but the two said they are blessed to be alive and blessed to have celebrated another year together.

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They have been married 46 years and just overcame Covid-19, cancer and chemo together - CNN

New London native Melissa Eccleston wants her daughter to have the same childhood experiences she had growing up, like spending summers at Ocean Beach Park.

But this summer, Eccleston said thats proved nearly impossible as Ocean Beach, which is allowingfewer visitors in than usual due to the coronavirus pandemic, has filled to capacity before 10 a.m. most weekends. Eccleston said she works during the week so cant go then when it is usually less busy.

"I've been here my whole life, and now as a parent, I would like my daughter to have the same childhood experiences at Ocean Beach that I had growing up, but with the limited capacity regulations, it is almost impossible to get even halfway down Ocean Avenue to even get close to entering the beach, she said.

While its not uncommon during the summertime for places such as Ocean Beach, which is city-owned, and state parks like Rocky Neck and Harkness to close on weekends due to being full or for there to be a long line of cars waiting to get in, reduced capacity limits as a result of the coronavirus pandemic have led them to close even earlier than usual.

Ocean Beach, for example, has closed at 9:30 a.m. and reopened around 4 p.m. most weekends. Posts on the beachs Facebook page have advised those traveling from a distance not to come on weekends so as not to be turned away when they get there because the beach is at capacity.

In addition to reduced capacity limits, several towns are only allowing residents to access their beaches orselling a limited number of day passes for nonresidents, and theyoften charge much higher fees for nonresidents, making the persistent problem of beach access in Connecticut, with much of its shore privately owned, an even bigger issue this summer.

These measures are also being put in place in other communities across the country.

Invariably, these measures are justified in the name of public health and concerns about the spread of the virus shouldnt be taken lightly. But exclusionary measures that predominantly white and wealthier communities have eagerly adopted, combined with the fact that many cities and towns are keeping public swimming pools closed to help narrow budget gaps, mean many Americans who rely on public facilities for outdoor recreation disproportionately lower income families and people of color will step outside this summer only to find that there are few places left for them to go, wrote Andrew Kahrl, a professor of history and African-American studies at the University of Virginia and the author of Free the Beaches: The Story of Ned Coll and the Battle for Americas Most Exclusive Shoreline, in a recent Op-Ed for the New York Times.

DEEP spokesman Will Healey said, DEEP has worked very hard throughout the pandemic to maintain safe access to the beaches it oversees. Shoreline swimming areas have remained open throughout the pandemic, thanks to the hard work of our Parks staff. We are proud of the fact that we were able to keep shoreline beaches open and operating at the maximum capacity allowed by the parking and acreage available at each of those beaches. The value of these recreational resources has never been more clear as evidenced by the approximately 300% increase in the number of at-capacity events at our beaches this year as compared to last. Last week, DEEP also opened swimming areas at eight of its inland state parks. DEEP has also created the https://portal.ct.gov/whatsopenoutdoors webpage to help residents plan their beach outings.

Demand for outdoor spaces has grown in Connecticut potentially a symptom of people being cooped up indoors for months due to the pandemic. When much else was closed in Connecticut this spring, state parks remained open with reduced visitor capacity. TheConnecticut Trail Census, which tracks usage of the multiuse trails around the state, found huge increases in March, April and May but said additional analysis would be needed to determine whether the jumpcan definitively be attributed to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders.

Being outdoors and in nature has proved benefits for one's mental health, a fact that has taken on newimportanceaftermonths of isolation.

"Just 15 minutes a day can make a big difference in someone'sclarity of mind, mood and stability of emotions as well as reducing cortisol levels and overarching reduction of stress and depression," said Janelle Posey-Green, a licensed clinical social worker who co-owns Magnolia Wellness LLC in New London.

The reality is that not everyone has the sameaccess to outdoor spaces, so Posey-Green tells her clients that even sitting outsidecan be beneficial.

"You dont have to live in a wooded area or near theocean to receive those benefits," she said. "Sitting out on the front steps for five minutes, absorbing thesunlight and observingthesounds aroundyou will make a significant difference in your mental health, clarity and cognitive function."

j.bergman@theday.com

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For many in Connecticut, COVID-19 restrictions have made it harder to go to the beach this summer - theday.com

Peet Sapsin directs clients inside custom built "Gainz Pods", during his HIIT class, (high intensity interval training), at Sapsins Inspire South Bay Fitness, Redondo Beach, California, Wednesday, June 17, 2020. Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images hide caption

Peet Sapsin directs clients inside custom built "Gainz Pods", during his HIIT class, (high intensity interval training), at Sapsins Inspire South Bay Fitness, Redondo Beach, California, Wednesday, June 17, 2020.

Exercise is good for physical and mental health, but with coronavirus cases surging across the country, exercising indoors with other people could increase your chance of infection. So, as gyms reopen across the country, here are some things to consider before heading for your workout.

Assess your own risk

It starts with you, says Dr. Saadia Griffith-Howard, an infectious disease specialist with Kaiser Permanente.

"You have to make your own assessment of how risky it is based on knowing your medical situation and whether you are someone who's at high risk for an infection," Griffith-Howard says.

People 65 years and older are at higher risk for getting a severe case of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So are people with certain underlying health conditions, like diabetes, heart or lung disease, or those who are immunosuppressed.

So if you fall in a high risk category, Griffith-Howard says it may not be worth the risk.

"If it was someone in my family [who was high risk] I would suggest that they not go to a gym," she says.

Consider alternatives for working out

If you want to exercise indoors, it's safer to do it at home, says Doug Reed, an immunologist and aerobiologist at the University of Pittsburgh.

"That's what I'm doing now," he says. "When the weather's nice, I'm jogging outside, but when it's not, I'm doing some weights and stretches and exercise indoors."

Exercise outdoors is a great low-risk alternative, agrees Dr. Nikita Desai, a pulmonologist with the Cleveland Clinic. When you are outside it's easier to control how close you get to other people.

"I would be less worried about the jogger who is running past you for a split second and more worried about the person who's working out next to you without a mask for half an hour," she says.

And the risk of transmission is lower outside than inside, says Joshua Santarpia, a microbiologist who studies biological aerosols at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

"Outdoors you have sunlight which has been shown to quickly inactivate the virus," he says. And outside airflow and humidity help dilute it.

If you do go: Assess your gym's safety measures

There are things gyms can do to help mitigate the risk of infection, so Griffith-Howard suggests making a checklist before you go.

"Are they taking your temperature?" she asks. "Are you seeing them regularly clean equipment? And are staff and other clients in the gym wearing a mask?"

Official guidance for how gyms should proceed varies state by state. Gyms are not open yet in some states, or open with restrictions in others find your state's restrictions here. Most guidelines suggest limiting capacity to keep the gym from getting crowded, routine disinfection of all equipment including machines and weights before and after use, posting signs to reinforce hygiene and other policies, and all recommend physical distancing.

In fact, that should be the number one thing on your checklist: Is there at least six feet of physical distance between everyone who is working out? Even more would be better. Another tip: Go during off hours when they'll be fewer people.

Some clubs have constructed exercise pods to ensure physical distancing. Others have gone touchless and are encouraging members to use a mobile app to check-in, says Sami Smith, Communications and Public Relations Assistant for the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, which has developed guidelines for clubs to use as a reference when planning their reopening.

Stay far apart. Really

This bears repeating stay at least six feet away from other people while you are exercising. And, if people are breathing heavily, "it would be preferable to double that to 12 feet," says Dr. Lou Ann Bruno-Murtha, division chief of infectious diseases at Cambridge Health Alliance in Cambridge, Mass.

That's because we don't know exactly how far virus particles travel when people are breathing heavily," says Doug Reed, an immunologist and aerobiologist at the University of Pittsburgh.

"When you are exercising and exerting yourself, you're going to be breathing out and breathing in more than you normally would, he says.

"And so the potential for being infected or spreading the infection would be that much higher," says Reed.

And if you're thinking about taking a group exercise class, think again, says Griffith-Howard, because it can be very difficult to keep six feet apart when moving around quickly.

"You may be breathing harder, people may be coughing, it may be hard to keep on masks," she says. "I would have some concerns about that."

A small study from South Korea looked at coronavirus spread at 12 different sports facilities. It found that infection spread rapidly among high intensity fitness dance classes with up to 22 students. Whereas yoga and pilates classes, with just seven or eight participants and little moving around, saw no spread.

So if you really want to take a group exercise class make sure it's small and that you can maintain a distance of six to 12 feet away from others.

Pay attention to air flow

Steer clear of small gyms and those with little ventilation, says Desai of the Cleveland Clinic.

"Your best bet is going to be a gym that is larger, able to have windows open or have multiple floors or levels to allow for physical distancing," she says.

That's because more space and more air flow dilute the concentration of the virus in the air and likely reduce the risk of transmission.

"If you're strenuously exercising then you're tending to draw in and exhale more air," says aerobiologist Reed.

This is especially important because there's increasing evidence to suggest "that people who are not symptomatic are, in fact, transmitting the infection," says Reed.

In fact levels of the virus found in the nose or throat of asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic individuals "can be considerable and are equivalent" to the amount of virus found in individuals with symptoms of coronavirus, he says.

So people who feel well enough to exercise may not realize they are infected, and may be on the weight machine next to you.

Should I wear a mask?

Our experts say it's best wear a mask as much as possible in the gym, including at the front desk, in the locker room and the bathroom and even while doing light exercise. But of course, when you're working out hard and breathing heavily it can be difficult to keep a mask on.

"Physical exercise doesn't lend itself well to the idea of wearing a mask," says Reed, because it can make it harder to breathe.

And while many gyms recommend masks, most don't require them.

"If you're doing aerobic type exercises on an aerobic type machine, you probably are not wearing a mask," says Bruno-Murtha of the Cambridge Health Alliance in Cambridge.

And even if people don a mask when they enter the gym, Bruno-Murtha still highly recommends maintaining at least a minimum 6-foot physical distance, "because I suspect at some points people may inadvertently remove their mask," she says which can be risky for others.

"Physical exercise is important for your physical and mental health but you still have to be smart," says Bruno-Murtha. "Wearing a mask is part of being smart, along with physical distancing, disinfecting equipment and vigilant hand washing."

Location, location, location

And, finally consider your geographic location. Exercising indoors in hot spots where cases are surging is more risky than in areas with low infection rates says Bruno-Murtha. So check out this color coded tracker to look up the COVID-19 risk in your county, and nearby counties.

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Are Gyms Safe Right Now? What To Know About COVID-19 Risk While Working Out : Shots - Health News - NPR

TheWest Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR)reports as of 10:00 a.m., on July 3, 2020, there have been 179,995 totalconfirmatory laboratory results receivedfor COVID-19, with 3,077 total cases and 93 deaths.

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

CASES PER COUNTY (Case confirmed by lab test/Probable case):Barbour(15/0), Berkeley (444/18), Boone (20/0), Braxton (3/0), Brooke (8/1), Cabell(139/6), Calhoun (2/0), Clay (10/0), Fayette (67/0), Gilmer (13/0), Grant(15/1), Greenbrier (60/0), Hampshire (42/0), Hancock (21/3), Hardy (44/1),Harrison (66/0), Jackson (143/0), Jefferson (230/5), Kanawha (323/9), Lewis(19/1), Lincoln (8/0), Logan (26/0), Marion (61/3), Marshall (40/1), Mason (19/0),McDowell (6/0), Mercer (46/0), Mineral (55/2), Mingo (19/3), Monongalia(181/14), Monroe (13/1), Morgan (19/1), Nicholas (12/1), Ohio (100/1),Pendleton (12/1), Pleasants (4/1), Pocahontas (28/1), Preston (68/15), Putnam(59/1), Raleigh (54/1), Randolph (161/1), Ritchie (2/0), Roane (11/0), Summers(2/0), Taylor (16/1), Tucker (6/0), Tyler (4/0), Upshur (20/1), Wayne (114/1),Wetzel (10/0), Wirt (4/0), Wood (102/8), Wyoming (7/0).

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

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

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COVID-19 Daily Update 7-3-2020 - 10 AM - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

We're making coronavirus coverage available without a subscription as a public service. But we depend on reader support to do this work. Please consider joining others in supporting local journalism in Alaska for just $3.23 a week.

As Alaskans commemorated Independence Day, the state reported another death associated with COVID-19 and 55 more cases among residents and nonresidents.

The 16th reported death of an Alaskan with COVID-19 involved an Anchorage man in his 70s with underlying health conditions, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services spokesman Clinton Bennett said Saturday. The man died in Alaska, though Bennett was not immediately able to clarify when his death occurred.

The state on Friday reported a 15th resident death involving an Anchorage man in his 80s who died in early June. In that case, the virus was listed as a contributing cause of death, the state health department said in a statement.

We are thinking of the loved ones of the person who died, the states chief medical officer, Dr. Anne Zink, said in statement Friday. We are concerned about Alaskas sharp rise in cases and hope everyone takes this as a warning call to limit contacts this weekend, stay six feet apart from non-household members, wear a face mask and wash your hands often.

If you are sick, even with mild COVID-19 symptoms, please isolate yourself and seek testing. We need all Alaskans working together to break infection chains.

Forty-eight residents and seven non-Alaskans newly tested positive for the illness caused by the coronavirus as of Saturday, according to the state health departments COVID-19 dashboard. Since the start of the pandemic, 1,111 Alaskans and 230 nonresidents have tested positive. Of those, 551 resident cases and 174 nonresident cases are active, meaning they are not considered to be recovered from COVID-19.

The new cases reported Saturday continue a surge in daily case counts and active cases since the state lifted most pandemic-related restrictions on businesses and social gatherings in late May. State officials have said they expect coronavirus case numbers to rise as people mix together, but they believed the state had the health care capacity and supply of personal protective equipment to manage an increase in cases.

The influx of new cases has strained the states ability to swiftly conduct contact tracing, however, with new cases now involving dozens or hundreds of contacts as opposed to just a few contacts per case, which was more often the situation earlier in the pandemic. In the states largest city, health officials this week said Anchorage had reached its maximum capacity to conduct contact tracing.

Investigating recent cases and tracking their contacts is a key component in helping limit the spread of the virus.

Three more Alaskans confirmed to be infected with the virus required hospitalization, bringing that total to 72 since the coronavirus was first detected in the state. There were 23 people with suspected or confirmed cases of the illness currently in the hospital, according to state data Saturday, which is down two from the previous day.

Fourth of July celebrations were canceled across the state, prompting Alaskans to celebrate on a smaller scale this weekend and organize their own festivities. Ahead of the holiday, state officials including Gov. Mike Dunleavy urged Alaskans to wear face coverings and maintain a physical distance of 6 feet from other people to avoid spreading the coronavirus.

Southcentral Alaska saw the bulk of new cases reported by the state Saturday. The new cases involve 32 residents of Anchorage, where the city health department confirmed COVID-19 exposure at more than a dozen establishments on specific dates in June. Health officials urged anyone who visited those businesses mostly bars at the specified times to monitor themselves for COVID-19 symptoms and get tested.

Elsewhere in Southcentral, four residents of Wasilla, one in Palmer, two in Willow and one in Soldotna also were confirmed to have COVID-19, according to state data.

The state reported no new cases out of Seward among test results returned Friday, but the city said four new cases emerged there Saturday. (The state reports new virus cases daily based on test results returned the previous day, and the new Seward cases will likely be included in the states count Sunday.) Officials in Seward this week limited gathering sizes, required masks in indoor public spaces and restricted capacity at businesses in an effort to contain an outbreak involving a couple dozen people.

The state on Saturday also reported four cases among residents of Fairbanks, one in Petersburg and one each in smaller communities in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Bethel Census Area and Bristol Bay plus Lake and Peninsula boroughs. The state doesnt report the name of communities smaller than 1,000 people as a means of privacy protection.

The Bristol Bay Area Health Corp. said in a statement that a Bristol Bay-area resident who developed symptoms of COVID-19 after traveling to Anchorage tested positive Friday. That person is self-isolating and several close contacts of theirs were instructed to remain in strict quarantine, the health corporation said, adding that the City of Dillingham and the affected village have also been notified of this new index case.

New nonresident cases include a seafood industry worker and another person in Anchorage, two seafood industry workers in Valdez, two people in Fairbanks and one individual in Juneau. The vast majority of nonresident cases confirmed in the state involve workers in Alaskas seafood industry, whose employees from out of state are generally required to undergo COVID-19 testing or quarantine before being allowed to work here.

On Friday 2,524 tests were run, out of 122,732 tests processed since the start of the pandemic, according to state data. Testing data reflects individual tests that were run, and not necessarily the number of individuals who have been tested.

Alaska health officials continue to urge Alaskans to maintain a distance of 6 feet from non-household members; frequently wash their hands; wear a mask in places where physical distancing is difficult to maintain; wipe down and sanitize frequently touched surfaces; stay home if they feel sick; and get a COVID-19 test if theyre experiencing symptoms of the illness.

Anchorage Daily News reporter Morgan Krakow contributed.

[Because of a high volume of comments requiring moderation, we are temporarily disabling comments on many of our articles so editors can focus on the coronavirus crisis and other coverage. We invite you to write a letter to the editor or reach out directly if youd like to communicate with us about a particular article. Thanks.]

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Alaska reports 16th death tied to COVID-19 and 55 more resident and nonresident cases - Anchorage Daily News

Noting the mild winter on the East Coast, Sapi says, "We do have a bad year for the ticks."

Hikers, campers and anyone else eager for an escape could "just explode into the outdoors. And there may not be the same thoughtful approach" to preventing exposure, explains Dr. Sorana Segal-Maurer, director of the Dr. James J. Rahal, Jr. Division of Infectious Diseases at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens health care system.

"I'm a little nervous that their guard may be down just a slight bit," she adds.

Outdoor crowds were so big around Memorial Day weekend, that parks from southern California to North Carolina had to close early after hitting capacity.

Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a rise in Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, with seven additional germs identified in the US in the last two decades, while the "lone star tick" expanded its footprint beyond the southeast to northern states and the Midwest.

But ignoring basic steps that reduce the risk of tick and vector-borne illnesses to focus solely on Covid-19 prevention is just one danger. Another is the possibility of confusing the symptoms if you start feeling sick.

Lyme disease and Covid-19: a tale of similar symptoms

Warning signs for tick-borne illnesses are "very similar to the severity that we've seen with Covid-19, which is that fever, the muscle aches, the headaches, the severe fatigue," says Dr. Segal-Maurer.

She believes a unique difference is that breathing problems are common in coronavirus patients, but not with those infected by tick diseases. Yet even that distinction is up for debate.

"Pulmonary involvement, even to a fatal degree, has been documented in a range of tick-borne infections," Dr. Steven Phillips of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation tells CNN. "Although serious pulmonary involvement with vector-borne infections is relatively uncommon, non-specific pulmonary complaints, such as shortness of breath, are extremely common."

Even if you follow the Covid-19 tips, heeding the advice to avoid bites is just as important. Dr. Segal-Maurer describes a "realistic" scenario if you're on a crammed hiking trail: "You're all going to be pushing into the vegetation ... you're going to be just a little bit off the path."

Ticks "hang off the very tip of the blade of grass or the leaf or the vegetation, and they have these little feelers that they ... sort of shake out there. So, the second you brush by, they latch on."

Last month, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced an increase in emergency room visits over the past several months "related" to tick bites. "Some symptoms of Lyme disease, such as fever, chills and headache, are similar to symptoms of COVID-19," Dr. Levine said in a statement, reiterating what other experts say.

Head outside -- but responsibly

Dr. Segal-Maurer says health care professionals always need to ask patients about their travel and other activities. "You have to cover all your bases... we don't want to be Covid-blinded."

Patients, in turn, should also be asking about both possibilities.

And when it comes to guarding yourself from ticks, she says, "You need to use DEET. It's gotta be 30%. You need to watch where you hike. And then you need to do a body check when you get back inside."

Dr. Phillips prefers Permethrin, which he says is stronger, but "can only be sprayed on clothes, not skin, and should be allowed to dry overnight before wearing."

Other tips include putting on hats, light-colored clothing to make ticks easier to spot, placing socks over your pants and choosing long-sleeved shirts to block ticks from getting near your skin.

That, of course, is in addition to wearing a mask to fight coronavirus spread.

Yet even with the extra hassle for a safer summer getaway, Dr. Segal-Mauer encourages people to head outside this summer because she believes "it's been such a traumatic several months. I think the great outdoors is a very healing place."

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Why tick season could be worse in the summer of Covid-19 - CNN