Tag: pandemic

New Study Shows Spread Of Virus Infection Following Trump Rallies

An investigation into the latest accelerated spread of coronavirus in multiple states appears to be linked to President Donald Trump’s string of campaign rallies over the last several weeks.

As coronavirus plagues states all across America, Trump continues to blatantly disregard how dangerous his campaign rallies are for his campaign staff, White House advisors and aides, and everyone who attends his political events. Now, USA Today has explained the extent of the spreads in several counties following the president’s rallies.

According to the analysis released by USA Today, case rates in at least five counties—Blue Earth, Minnesota; Lackawanna, Pennsylvania; Marathon, Wisconsin; Dauphin, Pennsylvania; and Beltrami, Minnesota—increased at a faster pace after Trump’s rallies. Collectively, these counties reported 1,500 additional new cases in the two weeks after Trump’s campaign rallies. The previous number of 8,069 jumped to 9,647 cases. Continue reading.

After dodging the worst of COVID-19, rural areas of Minnesota are ‘lit up with cases’

Rates there now rising faster than in metro. 

LA CRESCENT, MINN. – Juggling waitressing and motherhood one morning last week at Kaddy’s Kafe, Amy Jore had one eye on her customers and another on her 10-year-old son, Henry, as he tackled his homework in the restaurant’s storeroom.

It’s a balancing act forced on Jore by COVID-19, which is rapidly spreading across the countryside near this southeastern Minnesota river town and which prompted the temporary closing of Henry’s school.

“My main concern is the lack of control we have as people of the community, and the lack of protection I can provide for my family,” Jore said. “This has had an impact on my family — financially, mentally, emotionally.” Continue reading.

The 2020 ‘October Surprise’ Is The Virus Surging

Every election cycle, political journalists and observers wait in anticipation for the “October Surprise” — the unexpected news event that has the potential to shake up the race. In 2016, it was FBI Director James Comey’s announcement of a new development in the investigation of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state, driving negative coverage that cost her the election. Four years later, President Donald Trump and his media and congressional allies have been trying to recreate that magic to boost his reelection odds against former Vice President Joe Biden.

But this year’s October Surprise isn’t about a candidate’s adherence to the Presidential Records Act or debunked allegations of public corruption. It’s something far more consequential and visceral to the public — a third wave of COVID-19 cases bearing down on the country on Trump’s watch, in part because he’s been taking advice from his Fox News cabinet rather than listening to public health experts. 

Coronavirus cases are rising in virtually every state. The U.S. set a single-day high of 77,640 cases on Thursday, 12 days out from the election, according to NBC News. There were also more than 1,000 recorded deaths that day due to the virus, and given the expanding case load we are likely to see that tragic figure matched in the coming days. This “could become the largest coronavirus outbreak of the pandemic so far,” The Atlantic warns, with the virus now “found in every kind of American community, from tiny farm towns to affluent suburbs to bustling border cities.” Continue reading.

Trump campaign flouted agreement to follow health guidelines at rally, documents show

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NOTE: On October 26, Mike Pence is coming to Hibbing, Minnesota, after close contact with 5 Pence staffers who have tested positive for COVID-19. Again, the Trump campaign is putting Minnesotans’ lives at risk.

The start of President Trump’s rally was still hours away when it became clear that his campaign would not keep its promise.

In the days leading up to the Sept. 30 event in Duluth, Minn., local officials had privately pressed the campaign to abide by state public health guidelines aimed at slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus, documents show. In response, the campaign signed an agreement pledging to follow those rules, limiting attendance to 250 people.

On the day of the rally, however, Trump supporters flooded onto the tarmac at Duluth International Airport. They stood shoulder to shoulder, many without masks. Continue reading.

Members of Pence’s Inner Circle Test Positive for Coronavirus

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Along with Marc Short, the vice president’s chief of staff, three additional staff members and a Pence adviser have also tested positive, according to people briefed on the developments.

Several members of Vice President Mike Pence’s inner circle, including at least four members of his staff, have tested positive for the coronavirus in the past few days, people briefed on the matter said, raising new questions about the safety protocols at the White House, where masks are not routinely worn.

Devin O’Malley, a spokesman for Mr. Pence, said that the vice president’s chief of staff, Marc Short, had tested positive. A person briefed on the diagnosis said he received it on Saturday.

The vice president’s office said Mr. Pence and his wife, Karen, both tested negative on Saturday and again on Sunday. Continue reading.

New study makes it clear: Mask wearing can save lots of lives

Inexpensive measure could prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths by February, new study says. 

If Americans would stop complaining about face masks and wear them when they leave their homes, they could save well over 100,000 lives — and perhaps more than half a million — through the end of February, according to a study published Friday in Nature Medicine.

The researchers considered five scenarios for how the pandemic could play out with different levels of mask-wearing and rules about staying home and social distancing. All the scenarios assumed that no vaccine was available, nor any medicines capable of curing the disease.

Consistently, the most effective — not to mention cheapest and easiest — way to reduce deaths was to increase the number of people wearing masks. Continue reading.

U.S. hits all-time high in new coronavirus cases, exceeding 80,000 in a day for the first time

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NOTE: This article is provided free of charge by The Washington Post.

The United States hit an all-time high in new coronavirus cases on Friday, surpassing the previous mark set during a summer surge across the Sun Belt. Friday’s tally of new U.S. cases — the first above 80,000 — comes as covid-19 hospitalizations are soaring across the country; according to data tracked by The Washington Post, the average number of hospitalizations has jumped in at least 38 states over the past week, a trend that cannot be explained by more widespread testing.

Fourteen states have reported new highs in hospitalized covid-19 patients in the past seven days: Kentucky, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Iowa, Utah, Montana, West Virginia, Missouri and Kansas. Health experts say the current wave is setting the stage for an even greater surge heading into colder months. View the post an additional COVID-19 news here.

Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Weekly Update: October 23, 2020

Governor Walz Signs Local Jobs and Projects Plan Into Law
Bonding Bill

At the Ironworkers Local 512 Training Center in St. Paul on Wednesday, Governor Walz signed into law the $1.9 billion Local Jobs and Projects Plan that will invest in construction and renovation projects across the state and create thousands of jobs for Minnesotans.

“Our Local Jobs and Projects Plan will create thousands of good-paying jobs at a time when Minnesotans are looking for work,” said Governor Walz. “This bipartisan plan invests in the projects that local communities told us matter most to them. Whether that’s roads and bridges, clean water, or affordable housing, this plan will help ensure every community in Minnesota prospers.”

Continue reading “Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Weekly Update: October 23, 2020”

America hits highest daily number of coronavirus cases since pandemic began

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NOTE: This article is provided free of charge by The Washington Post.

Nation is poised to enter its worst stretch yet of the pandemic, with hospitalizations rising in 38 states

America on Friday hit its highest daily number of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, recording at least 82,900 new infections and surpassing the previous record set during the summertime surge of cases across the Sun Belt.

The rising numbers put the nation on the precipice of what could be its worst stretch to date in the pandemic with some hospitals in the West and Midwest already overwhelmed and death counts beginning to rise.

The current surge is considerably more widespread than the waves from last summer and spring. The unprecedented geographic spread of the current surge makes it more dangerous, with experts warning it could lead to dire shortages of medical staff and supplies. Already, hospitals are reporting shortfalls of basic drugs needed to treat covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The Coronavirus Has Claimed 2.5 Million Years of Potential Life in the U.S., Study Finds

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A Harvard researcher added up the number of years that Americans who died from Covid-19 might have lived had they reached a typical life expectancy.

In less than a year, the coronavirus has killed more than 220,000 Americans. But even that staggering number downplays the true toll of the pandemic, according to a recent analysis.

Every death represents years of potential life lost, years that might otherwise have been filled with rich memories of family, friends, productivity and joy — trips to the grocery store, late night conversations on the phone, tearful firsts with a newborn baby.

“Think of everything that a person does in a year,” said Stephen Elledge, a geneticist at Harvard. “Who among us would not give anything to have one more year with a parent, a spouse, a son or daughter, a close friend?” Continue reading.