Today’s update will begin with the shocking determination that the vast majority of coronavirus-hospitalized New Yorkers were sheltering-at-home.
The majority of people who are still being hospitalized with the coronavirus across the state of New York are staying at home and are not essential workers, new data has revealed, prompting the questions of whether or not lockdown even works or for how much longer it will be necessary.In a study of some 1,000 new patients admitted to New York hospitals over the last week, 66 percent were staying at home and 18 percent had come from nursing homes, meaning they either became infected by going out to get groceries or other essential items, or from seeing people outside of work.Gov. Cuomo said they were clearly becoming infected as a result of personal behavior, something that can’t be controlled by his lock-down….Cuomo revealed the data on Wednesday at his daily briefing. It came from a survey of hospitals conducted over the last week in an effort to drill down on why so many people were still becoming infected and who they were.He said that while it shows the number of new infections is being caused by ‘personal behavior’ and not the lockdown, the stay-at-home order had generally thwarted the virus enough that it still a good overarching plan.
More evidence mounts that the lockdown needs to end.
Health experts say people are significantly less likely to get coronavirus while outside, a fact that could add momentum to calls to reopen beaches and parks closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Being outside shouldn’t be seen as a completely safe space, health experts say. People should continue to avoid crowds and seek a six-foot distance from other people to stay away from the virus.
But experts are increasingly confident in evidence showing that the coronavirus spreads much more readily indoors than outdoors, a finding that could help guide policymakers seeking to figure out ways to end lockdowns that have shuttered much of the nation’s economy.
“Parks, beaches, as long as they’re not cheek to jowl, cycling, walking, this is good,” said Tom Frieden, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Enjoy nature, it’s good for us, and it has very low risk of spreading the virus.”
British and American officials have issued a joint warning that cyber-spies are targeting research and data related to the Wuhan Coronavirus.
UK sources say they have seen extensive activity but do not believe there has been any data theft so far.Those behind the activity are not named in the alert but are thought to include China, Russia and Iran.The three countries have all seen major outbreaks of the virus but have denied previous claims of involvement in such activity.The joint advisory says the UK and US are currently investigating a number of incidents in which other states are targeting pharmaceutical companies, medical-research organisations, and universities, looking for intelligence and sensitive data, including research on the virus.
There was a fair amount of social media discussion regarding the murder of a coronavirus researcher who was on the brink of a significant discovery. Police suspect that the motive was not related to his scientific efforts.
The married coronavirus researcher killed in a suspected murder-suicide in Pennsylvania was gunned down over “a lengthy dispute” about an “intimate partner,” police revealed Wednesday.A probe into the deaths of University of Pittsburgh scientist Bing Liu, 37, and Hao Gu, 46, found the pair was squabbling about a mystery companion whom Ross Township police would not identify.“We found zero evidence that this tragic event has anything to do with employment at the University of Pittsburgh, any work being conducted at the University of Pittsburgh and the current heath crisis affecting the United States and the world,” the statement read.Investigators forwarded their review of the case to federal authorities since the “individuals involved” are not US citizens, police said.Detectives have previously said that Liu — a native of China — and Gu knew each other, but evidence showed the shooting had nothing to do with the assistant professor’s ongoing COVID-19 research.
Now it is being reported that the Coronavirus Task Force is staying in place, despite earlier indications of it concluding later this month.
The president said in a series of tweets that the task force will now focus on safely reopening the United States amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, echoing remarks he made on Tuesday during a trip to Phoenix. Trump also said that the task force would be “very focused” on vaccines and therapeutics.His remarks came a day after Vice President Pence signaled the White House would wind down the work of the task force, indicating a shift in those plans.“The White House CoronaVirus Task Force, headed by Vice President Mike Pence, has done a fantastic job of bringing together vast highly complex resources that have set a high standard for others to follow in the future,” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning.“The last four Governors teleconference calls have been conclusively strong,” Trump continued. “Because of this success, the Task Force will continue on indefinitely with its focus on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN. We may add or subtract people to it, as appropriate.
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