Containing COVID-19 means closing the borders to keep Americans out
The USA remains at the top of the global pandemic scoreboard, with over 4 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 145,000 confirmed deaths. Brazil is a distant second.
Today’s headlines are below, but first, please tune in: I was a panelist on this week’s MidAtlantic Show podcast on politics from both sides of the Atlantic. The discussion was far-reaching, as usual, but this week was intriguing because of some developments north of the U.S. border. And the fact that Canada won’t be opening up the border anytime soon because of the rampant COVID-19 in the USA. The episode should post by Saturday morning.
Today’s COVID-19 headlines:
Eleven cities - Baltimore, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and St. Louis - must take “aggressive” steps to thwart the COVID-19 trend, according to a report citing remarks by White House advisor Deborah Birx in a call with regional officials earlier this week.
Specially trained dogs were able to detect COVID-19 infection in 83% of patients, according to a German study.
Farmworkers at a California pistachio plant are asking state officials to step in and help provide better worker safety, after 100 people at the factory were infected with COVID-19.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci says that he and his family have received serious threats, much more concerning than any of the hate messages that he grew accustomed to when leading the federal efforts to address HIV/AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s.
A $21 million federal study to rapidly evaluate an over-the-counter stomach remedy as a COVID-19 treatment has failed to yield any results, according to the Los Angeles Times. The study bypassed normal mechanisms to review scientific projects before funding.
The following item may be NSFW but is noteworthy on a few levels, including as an example of direct communication about health risks and protection: British Columbia’s health department has published a very detailed guide to sex during the COVID-19 era. It echoes what the NYC Health Department published awhile back, but it goes into more specifics.