World News
Global virus death toll passes 94,000, but some signs of hope
AFP – Another horror day of the coronavirus pandemic saw the global death toll pass 94,000, although there were tentative signs of hope that the crisis was peaking in the United States and Europe.
The picture of the unfolding economic catastrophe also became clearer with the IMF warning of a Great Depression and data showing 17 million Americans lost their jobs, but a European Union financial rescue package agreement offered some relief to the barrage of bad news.
Another 1,700 people died in the United States on Thursday, while there were hundreds more deaths across Europe, driving the confirmed global toll above 94,000.
Nearly half of all pandemic fatalities have occurred over the past week.
But authorities in worst-hit Europe and the United States said a slight decline in daily deaths and infections gave reason to hope the worst could be over.
“The fire started by the pandemic is starting to come under control,” said Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of Spain, where fatalities inched down to 683 from 757 a day before, pushing that country’s total above 15,000.
“Our priority now is not to turn back, especially not to return to our starting point, not to lower our guard.”
France also reported that 82 fewer people were in intensive care for COVID-19 — the first fall since the pandemic broke out.
And Anthony Fauci, the US government’s top pandemic expert, said the United States was “going in the right direction”.
Europe close to herd immunity?
Daily Mail – Europe could be close to herd immunity from coronavirus already, with far more people infected than previously thought, according to a study in Germany.
Scientists studying Gangelt, the town at the centre of Germany’s first big outbreak dubbed the ‘German Wuhan’, discovered that as many as 15 per cent of people may have already been infected with the virus and acquired immunity.
They said yesterday that they had found antibodies to the virus in people who had shown no symptoms of coronavirus, boosting hopes that the spread is slowing.
If 15 per cent of people do have antibodies, then Germany’s actual death rate could be as low as 0.37 per cent.
Professor Hendrik Streeck, the virologist leading the study, told a press conference: ‘This means a gradual relaxation of the lockdown is now possible.’
However, Angela Merkel has previously warned that the country ‘must not be reckless’.
Prof Streeck’s study, near the Dutch border, is Europe’s first to look at the impact of the virus on an entire community.
U.S. News, Politics & Government
Herbert issues travel declaration order; Utah up 108 COVID-19 cases
KSL- Beginning Friday, anyone 18 or older traveling to Utah via Salt Lake City International Airport or through Utah’s major roadways will be asked to fill out a travel declaration form asking them if they’ve been tested for COVID-19 and if they’ve recently experienced symptoms, Gov. Gary Herbert said on Wednesday.
“It’s a new thing — we have the technology that allows us to do this,” he said during a press conference at the Utah State Capitol. “This will allow us to help stop and slow down the spread of the coronavirus as we find people who come into our area who may, in fact, carry the infection.”
The announcement came after the Utah Department of Health announced 108 new cases of the coronavirus in the state, increasing Utah’s overall total to 1,846 and before an estimated travel rush for the Easter holiday weekend.
Those flying into Salt Lake City or driving into the state through nine different state entry points will be asked if they were tested for COVID-19, especially if it was in the last 14 days and what those test results were if Utah is their final travel destination. They will also be asked if they are currently experiencing symptoms of the coronavirus and to also detail their recent travel history.
Braceras explained that the department has geofenced the road entry points so that anyone traveling into the state will receive a text message from the federal wireless emergency alert system. That text will instruct them on how to fill out the declaration form once they pull over.
There will also be two exit points at the Salt Lake City International Airport where employees will give travelers cards with QR codes that will direct them to the form. The state’s health department will receive the information and contact the individual if they believe the traveler should begin a 14-day self-isolation quarantine or be tested for the disease.
“This is really a crucial next step for us as a state and certainly as the capital city to make sure that we’re implementing as many appropriate measures as we can to slow the spread of this highly contagious virus,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall.
Michigan bans travel between residences
Detroit Free Press – After Friday, Michigan residents will no longer be able to jump in the car — or cross the street — to visit friends and relatives inside the state, or to go to the cottage Up North, with limited exceptions.
That is one of the major changes in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “stay home” order, issued Thursday, which also extends the expiration of the order to May 1.
Until now, travel between two Michigan residences has been permitted.
Beginning Saturday morning, that will end, except for purposes such as caring for a relative, an elderly friend, or a pet, visiting a nursing home or similar facility, attending a funeral with no more than 10 people, or complying with a court order related to child custody.
“All public and private gatherings of any size are prohibited,” Whitmer said at a news conference. “People can still leave the house for outdoor activities,” and outdoor “recreational activities are still permitted as long as they’re taking place outside of six feet from anyone else.”
People will still be able to travel to other residences outside the state, but not to cottages or vacation rentals inside the state, the order says
See a violation of the stay-at-home order? Salt Lake City provides a way to report it
Fox – Local authorities have created a way to report egregious violations of Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County’s stay-at-home order, implemented to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in Utah’s most populous county.
The order, which urges people to stay home and only go out for essential travel (like work, grocery shopping and even a walk with appropriate social distancing) has been in effect for about a week now. Governor Gary Herbert has issued his own directive urging Utahns to stay home and exercise social distancing. On Wednesday, he issued a new executive order for people coming into the state to fill out travel declarations about COVID-19, and then urged Utahns not to travel the state for Easter or Spring Break.
At a news conference, Gov. Herbert was asked about people on the Capitol grounds enjoying the nice spring weather seemingly unconcerned with social distancing in the COVID-19 pandemic. It apparently did not escape the governor’s attention.
“We’re hopeful people will use good common sense and good judgment. We’re not saying you can’t be outdoors. We ask that you keep your social distancing,” the governor said.
“We know that not everyone is following the order,” she said.
The orders carry the potential for criminal charges, though no one has been cited, the mayor said.
Mayor Mendenhall said a lot of people are trying to comply with the orders. But like air quality measures, she said, not everyone will and some will egregiously go the other way. The mayor said people should feel free to report violations, but asked them not to call 911 (which is for actual emergencies).
The mayor’s office referred FOX 13 to a website created to report potential violations to the Salt Lake County Health Department and the city.
It links to the Salt Lake County Health Department’s site for reporting violations of many different health codes. Salt Lake City also has an online form for violations in public spaces it controls.
Police agencies have said they do not plan to issue citations, but will instead focusing on educating people about the health orders.c
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt: Governor’s order limiting religious gatherings likely violates state constitution
KSN News – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said Governor Laura Kelly’s new executive order restricting in-person religious gatherings as a COVID-19 countermeasure is sound public-health advice that Kansans should follow, but the order likely violates state constitutional and statutory protections for religious freedom. Schmidt said in a news release that worshipping must not be enforced by arrest, prosecution, fines or imprisonment.
“The Office of Attorney General strongly encourages all Kansans participating in religious services or activities to voluntarily comply with the new restrictions on religious mass gatherings in order to protect public health,” Schmidt wrote in a memorandum to law enforcement agencies and prosecutors statewide. “Nevertheless, … we also strongly discourage law enforcement from attempting to enforce the requirements of EO 20-18 as violations of the criminal law. In our view, Kansas statute and the Kansas Constitution’s Bill of Rights each forbid the governor from criminalizing participation in worship gatherings by executive order.”
Wednesday’s memorandum is the second Schmidt has provided to assist law enforcement and prosecutors statewide in navigating the legally uncertain world of enforcing emergency orders during the current COVID-19 crisis. He said further guidance was necessary because the new executive order singles out for additional regulation the exercise of a fundamental freedom expressly protected by the Kansas Constitution and by state statute. Schmidt noted that Section 7 of the Kansas Constitution’s Bill of Rights, as well as the state’s Preservation for Religious Freedom Act, both set strict limits on the authority of any state or local government authority, including the governor, to restrict the religious freedoms of Kansans.
“Kansas statutory and constitutional law, which remain in effect, provide substantially more protection for Kansans’ fundamental religious freedoms than does federal law,” Schmidt wrote. “Because no Kansan should be threatened with fine or imprisonment, arrested, or prosecuted for performing or attending church or other religious services… , law enforcement officers are advised to encourage cooperative compliance with the new provisions of EO 20-18 and to avoid engaging in criminal enforcement of its limitations on religious facilities, services or activities.”
Read a copy of the attorney general’s memorandum is available here.
UPDATE: Baltimore Plans Controversial Aerial Surveillance Program
Police in high-crime city say coronavirus pandemic creates a greater need; judge temporarily halts planned flights to review ACLU suit alleging privacy threat
WSJ – As cities around the country grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, Baltimore’s police force hopes to have a view other cities lack: an eye in the sky.
The Maryland city is planning as soon as this month to start experimenting with an aerial surveillance program, using planes equipped with high-tech cameras that can cover 90% of the city’s land area at any given moment.
Virus traces found in wastewater at high levels
New York Post – Coronavirus was detected in Massachusetts sewage at higher levels than expected, suggesting there are many more undiagnosed patients than previously known, according to a new study.
Researchers from biotech startup Biobot Analytics collected samples from a wastewater facility for an unnamed metropolitan area in late March, according to a report Tuesday on medRxiv.
Eric Alm, one of the authors of the study, which has not yet been peer reviewed, stressed that the public is not at risk of contracting the virus from particles in the wastewater, but they may have the potential to indicate how widespread the virus has become, Newsweek reported.
Poll: Sports fans won’t attend games without coronavirus vaccine
ESPN – The sports world has been at a standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic for roughly a month, and despite the widespread eagerness to restart games, a majority of Americans said in a recent poll they would not attend sporting events in person just yet.
Some 72% of Americans polled said they would not attend if sporting events resumed without a vaccine for the coronavirus. The poll, which had a fairly small sample size of 762 respondents, was released Thursday by Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business.
When polling respondents who identified as sports fans, 61% said they would not go to a game without a vaccine. The margin of error is plus-or-minus 3.6%.
Only 12% of all respondents said they would go to games if social distancing could be maintained, which would likely lead to a highly reduced number of fans, staff and media at games. For example, fan capacity for a Los Angeles Lakers or LA Clippers game at Staples Center is around 19,000.
The poll shows that the coronavirus pandemic would affect sports for the foreseeable future, even if some resume.
Just 13% of Americans said they would feel comfortable attending games again the way they had in the past.
“This virus has the attention and respect of the nation,” said Rick Gentile, director of the Seton Hall Sports Poll. “Those who identify as sports fans, at all levels of interest, line up closely with the general population in regard to their own safety and that of the players.”
According to medical experts, there might not be a coronavirus vaccine until 2021.
A compromise could be found in having games with no fans, an idea that garnered sufficient support. More than three-fourths — 76% — said they would watch broadcasts of games without fans and do so with the same amount of interest they had before the pandemic. Only 16% said they would be less interested, but 7% said they would be more interested.
Though there has been discussion of games without spectators, nearly half of respondents — 46% — said they think sports will be canceled through the end of 2020.
Prisoners wearing hazmat suits bury caskets in mass grave on New York island.
Daily Mail – Workers wearing hazmat suits have been spotted burying caskets in a mass grave on New York’s Hart Island – as the number of burials quadruples amid the coronavirus pandemic and the city’s death roll rises to 4,778.
A dozen contracted laborers were seen digging and burying the caskets – some of which had names carved on them – on Thursday.
The city has used Hart Island to bury New Yorkers with no known next of kin or whose family are unable to arrange a funeral since the 19th century.
Typically, about 25 bodies are buried there once a week by low-paid Rikers Island jail inmates. That number began increasing last month as the new coronavirus spread rapidly and New York became the epicenter of the pandemic.
They are now burying about two dozen bodies a day, five days a week, DailyMail.com has been told.
Until now, officials have remained tight-lipped on whether coronavirus victims were being buried on Hart Island.
On Thursday, officials said they had no choice but to bury COVID-19 patients at the city’s cemetery as it deals with the mounting coronavirus death toll and dwindling morgue space.
Prisoners Riot as Tensions Rise
WSJ – Coronavirus-fueled tensions inside the nation’s prisons and jails are boiling over into riots, standoffs and hunger strikes.
Officers at a Washington state penitentiary fired nonlethal rounds and used pepper spray to break up a demonstration of more than 100 inmates Wednesday night after six inmates tested positive there, prison officials said.
Economy & Business
Record Bankruptcies Predicted as Unemployment Soars
Bloomberg – Bankruptcies related to Covid-19 shutdowns will set records in the next 12 months, according to Edward Altman, the professor emeritus at New York University’s Stern School of Business who developed a widely used method called the Z-score for predicting business failures. “Whether it’s corporate bankruptcies or personal, this is unprecedented,” Altman said in an interview. “We will break the record in dollar amounts because there are much greater amounts of debt outstanding now than in any prior downturn.” At this point, he isn’t predicting record-breaking bankruptcy rates in the next year despite the surge in unemployment. Almost 17 million Americans filed jobless claims over three weeks following nationwide business shutdowns.
New research from economists at three Federal Reserve banks shows coronavirus-related bankruptcies could rise by 200,000 to reach almost 1 million, unless government stimulus programs offset the increase. By comparison, personal bankruptcies peaked at about 1.5 million in 2010 near the end of the Great Recession.
COVID-19 crisis heaps pressure on nation’s food banks
NBC – Food banks and pantries across the country are facing a steep drop-off in the bread and butter of their operations: food donated by supermarkets and farms.
Saudi Arabia, Russia Bury Oil Differences, Agree on Big Oil Output Cuts
WSJ – Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed in principle Thursday to lead a 23-nation coalition in massive oil-production cuts after a monthlong feud and a drop in demand due to the coronavirus crisis devastated oil prices. But following more than 11 hours of negotiations, Mexico abruptly exited the talks, jeopardizing a final pact.
Delegates said the talks would continue at a Group of 20 meeting of energy ministers set for Friday.
Coronavirus Impact: Gas Prices Fall Below $0.80 In Some Parts Of Minnesota
ABC – Some gas stations around Minnesota are selling gas for the lowest prices seen in decades.
According to GasBuddy.com, the lowest price of gas in the state on Thursday is $0.78 a gallon in Lake City, Minnesota. Red Wing is not too far behind with $0.84 a gallon at one gas station.
For some perspective, the Minnesota Historical Society has pictures from 1979 showing similar gas prices in West St. Paul.
In Minneapolis, the lowest gas price is going for $1.49 on Thursday.
Demand for gas has dramatically decreased since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
In Minnesota, traffic levels remain significantly lower than this period last year, resulting in early starts for some MnDOT road construction projects.
The Minnesota State Patrol, however, says it has noticed more speeding and aggressive drivers during the stay-at-home order and has advised motorists to continue safe driving habits.
Energy & Environment
New, larger wave of locusts threatens millions in Africa… Total destruction
AP – Weeks before the coronavirus spread through much of the world, parts of Africa were already threatened by another kind of plague, the biggest locust outbreak some countries had seen in 70 years.
Now the second wave of the voracious insects, some 20 times the size of the first, is arriving. Billions of the young desert locusts are winging in from breeding grounds in Somalia in search of fresh vegetation springing up with seasonal rains.
Millions of already vulnerable people are at risk. And as they gather to try to combat the locusts, often in vain, they risk spreading the virus — a topic that comes a distant second for many in rural areas.
It is the locusts that “everyone is talking about,” said Yoweri Aboket, a farmer in Uganda. “Once they land in your garden they do total destruction. Some people will even tell you that the locusts are more destructive than the coronavirus. There are even some who don’t believe that the virus will reach here.”
Awakening volcanic region in Iceland ‘could cause disruption for centuries’
Guardian – Volcanic activity is escalating in a region of Iceland that has not erupted for 800 years, with scientists warning it could cause disruption for centuries to come.
Since 21 January, the Reykjanes peninsula south-west of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, has experienced more than 8,000 earthquakes and about 10cm of land uplift due to magma intrusions underground.
“It seems that after being relatively inactive for many centuries, this region is waking up,” said Dave McGarvie, a volcanologist at Lancaster University.
Situated close to the town of Grindavík and the popular Blue Lagoon tourist attraction, and only nine miles (15km) from Iceland’s international airport, the region last erupted about 800 years ago (though there have been more recent eruptions offshore). Geological evidence shows the area is fed by five volcanic systems, which seem to come to life in a coordinated way roughly every 1,000 years.
These New Solar-Pavement Driveways Made of Plastic Bottles Can Power the Average Household
Good News Network – Solar panel driveways may soon be powering all our households with clean electricity thanks to this Budapest-based startup.
For the last five years, Platio Solar has been developing new ways of implementing solar technology into urban spaces—and one of their latest developments is a residential solar paneled driveway made out of recycled plastic bottles.
According to a video that was published by the company last week, the solar system is the first to generate power from the pavement of a residential household.
Each “Platio Solar Paver” is made from 400 polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles—one of the most common forms of consumer plastic. Compressed into pavers, the material becomes more durable than concrete while still being non-slip and sustainable.
The system can either be used to generate electricity for a residential household or power an electric car. According to the company’s website, a 20-square-meter (215-square-foot) Platio driveway system has the capacity to cover the yearly energy consumption of an average household.
The company is now offering resell opportunities and installation quotes for their driveway systems available in brown, blue, red, and green designs.
Science & Technology
Researchers Successfully Repair Stroke-Damaged Brains Of Rats Using Human Skin Cells
Study Finds – A stroke can have a devastating impact on the human brain, affecting our ability to move and even talk. In a breakthrough that scientists call “remarkable,” there is new hope for patients who have suffered a debilitating stroke.
Researchers in Sweden have restored the mobility and sense of touch in rats that have suffered a stroke. Using human skin cells reprogrammed to act as nerve cells, the scientists were able to repair the areas of the damaged rat brains.
“It is remarkable to find that it is actually possible to repair a stroke-damaged brain and recreate nerve connections that have been lost,” Lund University Prof. Olle Lindvall said in a statement.
Once the Swedish team transplanted the human cells into the rats, they found that the cells started making new connections within the stroke-affected rats. The cells not only started repairing the brains, but also made nerve connections to other healthy parts of the brain as well.
“Six months after the transplantation, we could see how the new cells had repaired the damage that a stroke had caused,” Prof. Zaal Kokaia explained.
Kokaia says this is the first time their studies have found transplanted cells making nerve connections with the opposite hemisphere of a rat’s brain. The researchers hope their work will eventually lead to replacing dead nerve cells in human stroke patients, but say that there’s a long way to go before that can happen.
“Our findings raise the possibility that injured neural circuitry might be restored by stem cells also in humans affected by stroke, which would have major clinical implications,” the authors wrote in the study’s findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The team is now looking at how the transplants affect other brain functions like memory.
Health
Epidemiologist: Coronavirus could be ‘exterminated’ if lockdowns were lifted
The College Fix – ‘Going outdoors is what stops every respiratory disease’
A veteran scholar of epidemiology has warned that the ongoing lockdowns throughout the United States and the rest of the world are almost certainly just prolonging the coronavirus outbreak rather than doing anything to truly mitigate it.
Knut Wittkowski, previously the longtime head of the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design at the Rockefeller University in New York City, said in an interview with the Press and the Public Project that the coronavirus could be “exterminated” if we permitted most people to lead normal lives and sheltered the most vulnerable parts of society until the danger had passed.
“[W]hat people are trying to do is flatten the curve. I don’t really know why. But, what happens is if you flatten the curve, you also prolong, to widen it, and it takes more time. And I don’t see a good reason for a respiratory disease to stay in the population longer than necessary,” he said.
“With all respiratory diseases, the only thing that stops the disease is herd immunity. About 80% of the people need to have had contact with the virus, and the majority of them won’t even have recognized that they were infected, or they had very, very mild symptoms, especially if they are children. So, it’s very important to keep the schools open and kids mingling to spread the virus to get herd immunity as fast as possible, and then the elderly people, who should be separated, and the nursing homes should be closed during that time, can come back and meet their children and grandchildren after about 4 weeks when the virus has been exterminated,” he added.
Wittkowski argued that the standard cycle of respiratory diseases is a two-week outbreak, including a peak, after which “it’s gone.” He pointed out that even in a regime of “social distancing,” the virus will still find ways to spread, just more slowly:
You cannot stop the spread of a respiratory disease within a family, and you cannot stop it from spreading with neighbors, with people who are delivering, who are physicians—anybody. People are social, and even in times of social distancing, they have contacts, and any of those contacts could spread the disease. It will go slowly, and so it will not build up herd immunity, but it will happen. And it will go on forever unless we let it go.
Asked about Anthony Fauci, the White House medical expert who for weeks has been predicting significant numbers of COVID-19 deaths in America as well as major ongoing disruptions to daily life possibly for years, Wittkowski replied: “Well, I’m not paid by the government, so I’m entitled to actually do science.”
FDA warns Alex Jones over false coronavirus claims
Politico – The Food and Drug Administration warned right-wing media personality Alex Jones to stop making false coronavirus claims about products touted and sold by his websites or face legal action and a possible order to pay back consumers.
The agency late today pointed to a range of misleading videos posted to Jones’ website, InfoWars, that promote unproven silver products including toothpaste as possible coronavirus treatments. The pro-Trump conspiracy theory website and its founder have been banned from various social media sites, and Google earlier this year removed the Infowars show from its Android App for spreading coronavirus misinformation.
Taking Hot Baths Every Day is Linked to Lower Risk of Stroke or Heart Disease
Good News Network – Regular tub bathing is linked to a lower risk of death from heart disease and stroke—and the higher the “dose,” the better it seems to be for cardiovascular health, with a daily hot bath seemingly more protective than taking a bath once or twice a week.
According to the long-term study published online in the journal Heart last month, having a bath is associated with good sleep quality and better self-rated health, but it’s not clear what its long-term impact might be on cardiovascular disease risk, including heart attack, sudden cardiac death, and stroke.
The health benefits of taking hot baths are similar to those experienced by Finnish adults who regularly sauna bathe—although additional research has also found that sauna bathing can positively affect everything from neurocognitive diseases and mental health disorders to skin diseases, arthritis, headaches, flu, and even overall mortality.
7 Vitamin-C-Rich Fruits & Veggies To Support Your Immune System
Mind Body Green – Between worrying about COVID-19 and the onset of springtime allergies, it’s more important than ever to keep your immune system strong and protect yourself from any potential infections. One way to do that is by adding vitamin-C-rich foods to your daily diet.
Between worrying about COVID-19 and the onset of springtime allergies, it’s more important than ever to keep your immune system strong and protect yourself from any potential infections. One way to do that is by adding vitamin-C-rich foods to your daily diet.
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