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Your Coronavirus Update – Today, Oct. 28, 2020
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
Speaker Nancy Pelosi says a Covid-19 relief deal will not coming before election day
A report from College Board suggests the strong pandemic may have paused rising college costs
The Price is Right will begin filming a new season, with no audience
Hockey and other indoor ice arena activities can resume in New Hampshire starting Oct. 30 but participants and staff will have to be tested for COVID-19
Thirteen of the Vatican’s Swiss Guards and a resident of the hotel where Pope Francis lives have recently tested positive. The Pope is beginning to wear a mask in public, which he has not done up to this point. He is 83 with only half a lung, and would be a high risk.
Remote workers’ stress break: More than 2,000 hotels in the Marriott International Inc. system will begin allowing guests to check in at 6 a.m. and stay as late as 6 p.m. the next day, a promotion aimed at remote workers looking for a change of scenery from their homes.
Jerusalem Mayor has decided that children in grades 1-4 will attend school five days a week, and not three days as was decided by the government.
500,000 new cases this week have been identified in the US.
Strolling of the Heifers, a Vermont event has suspended programs include Windham Grows that the board said, “supported many emerging agribusinesses,” a farm-totable apprenticeship, and an annual Slow Living Summit.
VP Pence’s Chief of Staff, Mark Short, tested positive. 5 members of the VP staff are thought to be positive
The Mayor of Istanbul, Turkey tested positive.
Massachusetts unemployed who were ineligible for the federal stimulus will be getting $1,800 from Massachusetts.
United Healthcare is mailing, through their Medicare Advantage program, a package of Tamiflu, a COVID19 test, and a thermometer, to 200,000 high-risk patients enrolled in their plan. The test can be taken at home and mailed back for processing.
Spain orders nationwide curfew between 11pm and 6am out of concern for collapsing of hospital system. It is expected the curfew would be in effect for 6 months.
Italy is putting into effects its curfew as well. Italian bars and restaurants have to close by 6pm. Theaters, pools, and gyms will close for at least a month, but some schools and workplaces will stay open.
AirBNB disallowing one day rentals on Halloween out of concern about large parties in COVID19 times.
Covid-19 outbreak at St. Michael’s College in Vermont rises to 26 cases; 137 in quarantine
Deaths in long term facilities—which house less than one percent of the US population—represented a shocking 43 percent of all US COVID-19 deaths. That percentage has decreased only slightly to 41 percent in the month since. Long-term care facilities remain extremely vulnerable to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
AstraZeneca has resumed the U.S. trial of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine after approval by regulators, and Johnson & Johnson is preparing to resume its trial on Monday
Some vaccines are already in mass production and storage – if they prove ok to go, the country will be ready – if not they will be discarded – but no time will be lost in ramping up and being prepared. This is the first time a business model has been used instead of a medical model with vaccine programs.
Massachusetts tracing efforts have turned up successful transmission path for only ½ of the cases investigate.
21% increase in Hasbro game sales because of pandemic – especially traditional board games such as Scrabble, puzzles, etc.
U.S. reports a new COVID-19 case every 1.26 seconds, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.
A police force in England says it will try to stop people from leaving Wales, which has started a 17-day lockdown. The Gloucestershire Constabulary will patrol routes and pull over drivers they believe are making long journeys. Travelers without a good excuse will be asked to turn around.
Greece officials introduced mandatory wearing of masks everywhere.
Slovenia shut down non-essential shops, kindergartens and hotels.
Wisconsin can’t keep up with contact tracing. Missouri, Indiana, Florida and Kentucky, have outsourced tracing work to private companies to lighten the load on their own public health staff. Others use apps that alert people with a text message if they’ve come into contact with a person who tested positive.
Nearly 15,000 people have left D.C. since the pandemic began
The NY Port Authority will start issuing $50 fines for not wearing face coverings at airports, bus terminals and subways.
The only public school on Lanai, Hawaii, has moved to distance learning amid an outbreak of coronavirus cases on the island.
Only 12.3% of nursing homes did not have a one-week supply of N95 masks as of mid-October, and only 8.7% lacked a one-week supply of gowns.
Ohio Wesleyan University is eliminating or phasing out majors in 18 subjects.
The number of new infections is growing so quickly that Philadelphia is losing the ability to adequately trace the contacts of everybody who is testing positive and may have to impose restrictions on activity. Contact tracers are unable to reach out to every new person testing positive. As a result, city officials may resort to managing some cases through guidance or asking people who tested positive to reach out to some of the people with whom they may have had contact while contagious.
Albany: The state is reinstating restrictions on visits to hospitals, nursing homes and prisons in its coronavirus “red zones.”
Walt Disney World will lengthen its theme park hours this Halloween weekend, and further extended hours are coming in November.
Parents in Texas seeking to homeschool their children are complaining that some public schools are trying to block them from withdrawing their children.
Nashville: People with COVID-19 or those showing symptoms should be able to vote in person with new safety measures Nov. 3 if they choose, state elections officials told counties this week.
An experimental COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom produces an immune response in both younger and older adults, triggering lower adverse responses among the elderly – This could potentially be seen as a game-changer in the battle against the novel coronavirus.
Maine is reporting more than 50 cases per day in the last 3 days.
Russia instituted a nationwide mask mandate.
Former President Barack Obama joked that Trump is “jealous of COVID’s media coverage.”
Kansas studied mask mandates vs. no mask mandates and found ½ less outbreaks among cities/towns with mask mandates.
Cities of Lawrence, Springfield & Worcester, MA cancels trick-or-treating due to COVID-19 concerns
Fairhaven, MA says keep your group small – just go with family.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is encouraging all city residents to get tested for COVID-19, regardless of whether they have had symptoms or contact with an infected person.
Regarding the extra reimbursement for COVID19 diagnosed deaths, Medicare does reimburse hospitals 20% more for a COVID19 diagnosis, $1500-2200 per patient.
The El Paso, TX civic center will be converted into a medical care site and some patients will be flown to other cities as local hospitals are being inundated with COVID-19 patients. A stay-at- home order with a daily curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. unless going to work or going to an essential service. Violation of the order is punishable by a $500 fine.
Raytheon may reduce office space by 25%.
Moderna: United Kingdom has started the rolling review process of mRNA-1273, our vaccine candidate against COVID-19.
EpiVax, a Rhode Island based company has the vaccine, EPV-CoV19, is ready for production and deployment. A Phase I Trial of EPV-CoV19 will begin in 3 months.
Hawaiian Airlines says it’s reviving the longest domestic commercial flight in the United States. The carrier announced that it’s bringing back its 5,095-mile Boston-Honolulu route in December, in time for the holidays.
RHODE ISLAND & VICINITY
Governor’s Update TODAY at 1pm – we will post a link on our Facebook page
RI Data:
October 27:
October 26:
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin is advising families to not do house-to-house trick or treating.
Open enrollment period for HealthSource RI, the state’s official marketplace for health insurance coverage, begins November 1. Now is the time to sign up for new health coverage or renew your existing coverage. Go to: https://healthsourceri.com/ – it will be an extended enrollment period through January 23, 2021.
Dr. Ernest Finocchio has passed away from coronavirus complications. Familiar to many Rhode Islanders as the face of the RI SPCA, always advocating for kindness to animals, Finocchio served as the 10th President of the Rhode Island SPCA for 18 years, retiring in March of 2019.
Governor Raimondo says Rhode Island “is within weeks of going back to Phase 2” – this was where we were in June. This could reduce groups to less than 15; closing of bowling alleys, theaters, etc., closure of high touch services such as makeup, massage parlors, some saloons, etc., and reducing offices to 33% volume, and retail by 15%, etc.
RIDOH has serious lag in contact tracing and notification: ProJo story reporting on how Heidi and Brian Blais got a call Sunday from the R.I. Department of Health saying their daughter, a senior at La Salle Academy, should have been quarantined since Oct. 13, because she had been in close contact with a student who tested positive for COVID. It was the first they’d heard that their daughter had been exposed.
LaSalle Academy will move to distance learning for the rest of this week after a teacher tested positive.
99 positive cases in Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls
Rigatoni’s Restaurant in Warwick has moved back to curbside only out of concern for rising coronavirus numbers.
Twin Oaks in Cranston has reopened for curbside takeout and will reopen for indoor dining on Friday.
Providence’s Army-Navy store on Thayer St. to close.
URI’s fall football season will begin.
The Museum at the International Tennis Hall of Fame will be closed until April 1.
Gov. Raimondo acknowledges state of RI is way behind in contact tracing – says, “we’re testing so much more, but we have more contact tracing as we find more positives” – hiring 100 new people right now. Says it is slow because people who test positive have “too many contacts” – they are saying they have 50 close contacts. – See video.
CAA Football announced its conference schedule for the 2021 Spring season, which includes a six-game slate for each institution using a unique divisional format. URI released the schedule, here: https://gorhody.com/news/2020/10/27/caa-football-announces-scheduling-format-for-spring-2021-season.aspx
RI being talked about at the national level regarding BiNex Now rapid tests – pilot program here – Rockefeller Center, Johns Hopkins, Duke Margolies Center – 120,000 being used in RI school districts to test different paradigms.
4 new RI Businesses with Violations of COVID19 Protocols:
Krystal Lounge, Hartford Ave., Providence
D’Prieto Barbershop, Prairie Ave., Providence
DiNos Lounge, Main St., Pawtucket
Red Star Mattress and Upholstery, Mendon Rd., Cumberland
Rhode Island is part of this “test” …
