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RI Coronavirus Update – Today, August 11, 2020
Photo: The Plymouth Fire Department’s fire boat assisted in an escort for the Mayflower II ship into Plymouth Harbor on Monday, Aug. 10. The ship never made it to RI because of our increasing case load. (Photo courtesy Plymouth Fire Department)
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
NEW! Russia announces new vaccine production – Putin has announced his daughter has already received it – stay tuned for more info
This is World Mask Week to encourage people around the world to embrace the use of face masks until a vaccine is available, with social media challenges calling on all people, including celebrities, politicians and health care workers, to post a statement, pictures, or videos of themselves wearing a mask with the tag #WorldMaskWeek.
Florida has the lowest case rate in many weeks and a death rate in the single numbers.
Almost five months after the coronavirus pandemic shut down the cruise industry, more than 12,000 crew members remained on ships in U.S. waters, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. That’s down from more than 70,000 in May.
With fear that more restaurant and dining establishments could be shut down at any time, or leaving dining rooms at half capacity, longtime service professionals are leaving the hospitality industry in droves for greener pastures elsewhere.
The Georgia school with crowded picture of children standing shoulder to shoulder on first day of school – quite a few children now test positive – school closed for cleaning for several days.
All Fall MAC (Mid Atlantic Conference) college sports canceled
Over 5 million Americans now have COVID-19
250,000 motorcycle enthusiasts are at the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, a state with one of the lowest incidence rates. This will be among the country’s largest public gatherings since the beginning of the coronavirus in the US. Super-spreader theories will be tested.
President Trump signed several bills on Saturday:
- Waive payroll tax payments from Aug 1 – 2020 – this will mean larger paychecks for employees
- HHS/CDC to protect people from eviction. Work with renters/landlords
- Expand unemployment – to $400/week – states to cover 25% from existing funding – states can offer more if they want, and feds would cover 75% of it
- Student loan borrowers – continue interest reduction to 0% – extended to end of year, and most likely beyond that.
- Income tax and capital gains tax cuts coming up
More than 97,000 children in the U.S. tested positive for coronavirus in the last two weeks of July,
The Associated Press finds at least 48 state and local public health leaders have resigned, retired or been fired since April across 23 states.
From Axios commentary “The good news: The United States has a window of opportunity to beat back Covid-19 before things get much, much worse. The bad news: That window is rapidly closing. And the country seems unwilling or unable to seize the moment.
Councilman Paul Vallone of New York says Hydroxychloroquine helped him recover from a severe case of COVID-19. “I couldn’t breathe, very weak, couldn’t get out of bed. My doctor prescribed it. My pharmacy had it. Took it that day and within two to three days I was able to breathe,” Councilman Paul Vallone told the New York Post. “Within a week I was back on my feet.”
New Zealand has gone 100 days without community transmission of COVID-19. Its tourism industry has collapsed and the country is more isolated than before. Their three keys:
1. Ongoing border controls to stop COVID-19 from entering the country
2. A lockdown and physical distancing to stop community transmission
3. Case-based controls using testing, contact tracing and quarantine
Massachusetts’ deadline extended to end of the week for district school plans.
Revenue losses at hospitals and outpatient surgery centers may have exceeded $5 billion from canceled knee and hip replacements alone during a roughly two-month hiatus on elective procedures earlier this year.
The UK will lay off 6,000 contact tracers
California spent millions on arena hospital that saw only 9 patients.
RHODE ISLAND & VICINITY
RI Data
Deaths: 0 – New positive cases of 28, the lowest rate. 3 day hospitalizations – 85
Next update with the Governor: Wednesday, 1pm
Responding to our request for a response to the president’s Executive Order to extend extra unemployment at $400 per week (not $600), the RI DLT sent us this response: “The Department is awaiting guidance from USDOL and FEMA on the implementation of this Executive Order. We will update unemployment insurance claimants as soon as additional information is available.”
Men’s Warehouse in Warwick will close
First Hopkinton Seventh Day Baptist Church in Ashaway has moved its Sat service outdoors.
The RI Center for Freedom and Prosperity is releasing a new campaign aimed at encouraging the state not to raise taxes, saying, “The worst time to raise taxes is during an economic crisis.”
RI State Police Hotline – have had hundreds of calls about large events. Most calls were about COVID19 testing – rec’d 412 calls – went to 56 events – crowds found 4 times – 3 in Providence, 1 in Coventry – 3 college events, 1 post-funeral event. People respectful. Some events were catered restaurant events, under the 100 minimum
Concern over licit-ness of upcoming vaccine, Bishop Tobin released this statement and then clarified the church’s position. Today there is a conference call with other church spokespeople – we will report on that in a follow-up story. Tobin: “In considering a question currently making the rounds, I’ll be happy to receive an approved coronavirus vaccine when it’s available, even on an experimental basis, but only if it’s developed and obtained in a morally licit way. It means that it would be immoral to develop vaccines from embryonic stem cells, i.e., from aborted babies.”