COVID* STANDFORD MASK STUDY---Elsevier journal to retract widely debunked masks study whose author claimed a Stanford affiliation p345

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Nebraska outlet mall plans to fully reopen this month despite pandemic, owner says

Nebraska Crossing Outlets says it will fully open its doors on April 24 for brick and mortar shopping.

The outlets will allow its more than 80 tenants to invite customers to shop in what it called a “soft opening.”

Nebraska Crossing Outlets, near Omaha, would become one of the first malls to fully open back up across the country.

Owner and developer Rod Yates told CNN his tenants, which include several global retail brands, asked to use his outdoor outlet as a case study to see what best practices are necessary to start opening storefronts across the country and globe.

“At some point here, we got to start thinking about how brick and mortar is going to interact with retailers and customers and so we found an opportunity here to kind of do that,” Yates said in an interview with CNN.

“We’ll experiment, we're going to walk, we're going to be very, very cautious,” he added.

The mall has largely been open for individual stores to fulfill curbside pick-up orders but haven’t let customers actually inside the stores. This soft opening would change that. The outlet mall is home to retailers like Nike, Adidas, Polo Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade among others.

Some background: Nebraska is one of seven states in the US to have no official stay-at-home order. With less than 1,000 cases statewide, Gov. Pete Ricketts ordered businesses like hair salons, tattoo parlors and strip clubs to be closed until May 31 but only “urged” individuals to practice social distancing guidelines without making them mandatory.

The state’s peak is expected around May 2, eight days after the outlet mall reopens.

Yates said he’s communicated with Ricketts about the outdoor mall opening, saying the governor cautioned against creating any mass opening events — leading to the “soft opening” that will gradually transition to a full opening in May, according to a letter sent to stores.

As a precaution, Yates said the mall bought 100 of infrared forehead thermometers to give to each store, encouraging them to take the temperatures of employees and possibly even customers. But the use is not mandatory. Covid-19 can be contagious even when those infected don’t have fevers.

Yates said he will also leave crowd size regulation up to individual stores. The outdoor mall sits on more than 40 acres of land, Yates said, but shop sizes vary so creating a one-size fits all mandate for stores isn’t ideal. He does not expect all stores will participate in the opening.

US surpasses 600,000

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Trump acknowledges governors will have the authority to open states when ready

President Trump says he'll soon reveal details and guidelines for reopening the country but appeared to acknowledge that individual state governors will ultimately determine when to reverse stay-at-home orders.

Only a day earlier, Trump insisted he had absolute authority to determine when states would be able to reopen their economies.

But his message Tuesday was different. He said governors would determine their own plans. And while he said he was authorizing them to do it, there wasn't any evidence they would require such sign-off.

Trump said he would be "authorizing each individual governor of each individual state to implement a reopening and a very powerful reopening plan of their state."

He said he would soon speak to all 50 governors about the plans, and indicated some states without major outbreaks could potentially open before May 1.

He said his administration would work to hold governors accountable for the plans.

But he said they'd be working closely with the states.

BNO Newsroom
@BNODesk
New York Governor Cuomo says he's issuing an executive order which requires people to wear a mask or face covering in public settings where social distancing is not possible

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now that there are no good masks to be had.

Scott Gottlieb, MD
@ScottGottliebMD
1/3 New study shows that people with #COVID19 may be most infectious before their symptoms develop. The authors estimate that - on average - about 44% of secondary cases were infected from people who had not yet developed symptoms.

Scott Gottlieb, MD
@ScottGottliebMD
·
1h
Replying to
@ScottGottliebMD
2/3 They report patterns of viral shedding in 94 patients with #COVID19 and model infectiousness from separate sample of transmission chains. They observed highest viral load in throat swabs at time of symptom onset; inferred that infectiousness peaked on or before symptom onset.

Scott Gottlieb, MD
@ScottGottliebMD
·
1h
3/3 This has very important implications for case based interventions. These findings will make effective and aggressive contact tracing to test, trace new cases critical to controlling for outbreaks and future epidemic spread.

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Idaho governor says nonessential businesses can "prepare to reopen after April 30"

Idaho's governor said nonessential businesses can "prepare to reopen after April 30" by developing a number of operational plans over the next couple weeks.

"Many nonessential businesses can also prepare to reopen after April 30 by developing operational plans over the next two weeks to do the following things," such as maintaining physical distancing and providing protection for employees and citizens, Little said.

Little's amended order also requires out-of-state travelers to self-quarantine for 14 days after entering Idaho, excluding those performing essential services.

At least 26,950 people have died in the US

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70,000 Spanish nurses may have coronavirus

Nearly a third of nurses in Spain — up to 70,000 — could have been infected with Covid-19, according to preliminary findings in a new study from the Spanish College of Nursing.

Almost 30% of the nurses surveyed by email said they had symptoms of Covid-19 infection, the professional body for the Spanish nursing profession said.

Around 75% of nurses who responded to the ongoing study believed they had been exposed to the infection in the workplace, with around 35% putting this down to a lack of personal protective equipment.

The Spanish government says 27,758 health care workers have tested positive for coronavirus to date, about 15% of all cases in the hard-hit country. A number of health workers, including doctors, have died.

The Spanish College of Nursing has more than 300,000 members.

Germany will allow some shops to reopen

New York to send ventilators to Michigan/Maryland

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Fauci suggests no fans and weekly testing needed for sports to return

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top medical expert on the coronavirus pandemic and a member of President Trump's coronavirus task force, said there is a way for sports to return.

He suggested no fans and weekly testing.

Appearing on Snapchat's Peter Hamby show, "Good Luck America," Fauci said, "There's a way of doing that. Nobody comes to the stadium. Put [the players] in big hotels, wherever you want to play, keep them very well surveilled ... and have them tested every single week and make sure they don't wind up infecting each other or their family, and just let them play the season out."

"People say you can't play without spectators. Well, I think you will probably get enough buy in if from people who are dying to see a baseball game, particularly me. I'm living in Washington. We have the world champion Washington Nationals and I want to see them play again," he added.

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CDC estimates more than 9,200 health care workers have been infected with coronavirus

More than 9,200 health care workers have been infected with Covid-19, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found in its first such assessment, published on Tuesday.

The number is likely an underestimate, since most reports of coronavirus cases don’t note whether the person worked in health care.

“This national surveillance article spotlights the large number of health care personnel already infected with Covid-19,” CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Anne Schuchat told CNN. “I think we’ve all learned this virus was a greater threat than we had thought.”

Among the health care workers who had coronavirus, 90% were not hospitalized. There were 184 admissions to the intensive care unit, and 27 people died.

Schuchat added that it is important to focus on making sure that health care workers have the personal protective equipment they need, and that they need to remain vigilant.

752 people died in New York in the past 24 hours

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UK beginning to see "flattened curve" in new coronavirus cases


The British government says that based on national data it is beginning to see a “flattened curve” for new Covid-19 cases, adding that containment measures appear to be having a positive effect on the trajectory of the outbreak.

"What I see here is evidence that everybody’s efforts to stay home and not have as much contact with other people, as would be normal, is having the impact that we hoped it would have and bringing this epidemic to a much better trajectory where this is currently flat and no longer rising,” said Angela McLean, UK deputy chief scientific adviser, during a news conference at Downing Street.

According to McLean, hospital admissions fell by 1% across the country on Tuesday, and by 5% in the Greater London area.

Speaking alongside McLean, the UK’s Chief Medical Adviser, Professor Chris Whitty, said he believes the UK is “probably reaching the peak overall” in the trajectory of the national coronavirus outbreak.

But he warned the country could still see an uptick in the number of daily deaths.

“Sadly, we do think that high numbers of deaths will continue for certainly a short while on from where we are at the moment," Whitty said.

"We are not yet at the point where we can say confidently and safely that we are now past the peak,” he added.

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Los Angeles will require face masks for all essential errands


Starting at midnight tonight, Los Angeles residents will be required to wear a face covering or mask while venturing out for essential services, County Supervisor Kathryn Barger told CNN.

About sporting events and other mass gatherings, Barger said she believes they are unlikely until a vaccine for coronavirus is available. When it comes to bars and nightclubs, Barger said, “I think that’s way out there.”

Fitness centers and gyms are also probably low on the list for reopening but many construction projects are considered essential and still working within social distancing guidelines.

"Masks definitely are going to be and are a must at all construction sites,” Barger said.

Maryland mandates face coverings in retail establishments and on public transportation

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CDC releases demographics on coronavirus cases in the US

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released “demographic characteristics of Covid-19 cases in the United States” on its website Wednesday.

The newly published information details the race and age of coronavirus cases in the United States as of April 14. On Wednesday, the CDC reported more than 605,000 cases of coronavirus, but the demographics are only listed for 398,852 cases.

A majority of the cases, in some instances, up to 85%, the CDC lists “unspecified” or “missing” as the age and race.

Here are some of the findings from the CDC:

Of the cases, a majority are in the 18-44 and 45-64 age ranges
73% of the cases fall between 18-64
90,619 cases are those over the age of 65
80% of the cases listed under white are over the age of 65
34% of the cases listed in the 45-64 age group are black or African American

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Los Angeles sees record deaths for second straight day


For the second day in a row, Los Angeles County is reporting more coronavirus-related deaths than ever before.

Health director Barbara Ferrer said Wednesday 42 people died, and another 472 coronavirus case were confirmed in the county.

No link but trump said during the presser that it came from the wuhan lab a man and his girlfriend are the spreaders

At least we can add to our list of concerns:

*shooting war with a nuclear power



Saying something like this is not a good idea, even if it is true. Nothing good will come of public accusations like this.

It seems that this will become quickly the official narrative:

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Pandemic, an economic meltdown, now a 3rd crisis: China-U.S. tensions

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Julia Marsh
@juliakmarsh
.@NYCMayor
says New Yorkers should "lower expectations" about a beach season this summer.

"Imagine Coney Island in the middle of the summer, hundreds of thousands of people packed tightly together, I don’t see that happening anytime soon"

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South Dakota Gov. Noem, who opposed stay-home order, now faces coronavirus hot spot

Despite an outbreak in South Dakota's biggest city and criticism that there's no statewide shelter-in-place order, Gov. Kristi Noem said Wednesday the state is doing better than expected and "bending the curve."

"We have cut our peak, and that's a good thing, and that is encouraging to all of us," Noem said at a news briefing. "Our health care system can handle what's coming at us."

Noem, a Republican, made her remarks as the number of people who've tested positive for the coronavirus in the state rose to 1,168, in large part because of a cluster of cases stemming from a meat processing plant in Sioux Falls. There have been six deaths in the state.

[snip]

Scott Gottlieb, President Donald Trump's former head of the Food and Drug Administration, expressed concern about the state's numbers.

"South Dakota has become one of the fastest growing hot spots in U.S., even as other parts of nation see their epidemics start to level off or slow. South Dakota has a doubling time now of about 4 days. In the setting of the ongoing national epidemic, every state is vulnerable," he tweeted.

606 people died in New York on Wednesday, governor says

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said 606 people died in the state on Wednesday.

That is down from 752 people across the state who died the day before.

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Social distancing plan extended to May 15 in New York

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WHO Sets 6 Conditions For Ending A Coronavirus Lockdown

[snip]

Any government that wants to start lifting restrictions, said Tedros of WHO, must first meet six conditions:

1. Disease transmission is under control

2. Health systems are able to "detect, test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact"

3. Hot spot risks are minimized in vulnerable places, such as nursing homes

4. Schools, workplaces and other essential places have established preventive measures

5. The risk of importing new cases "can be managed"

6. Communities are fully educated, engaged and empowered to live under a new normal



Months of work to make all six in the US.

Hilton says 16% of global hotels "temporarily" closed

UK extends lockdown at least another three weeks