Covid-19 is proving 'exceptionally difficult to stop', WHO says

Covid-19 is proving exceptionally difficult to stop, and it is important to identify where the human-animal barrier was breached, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Programme, said during a news conference in Geneva on Monday.

“This is not an easy virus and not an easy virus, either, to detect. It’s not an easy virus to stop,” he said.

Ryan explained that it is difficult to detect and distinguish between Covid-19 and other syndromes without adequate and immediate testing which is being seen in countries where both Covid-19 and influenza are circulating at the same time.

An epidemiologic investigation will start in Wuhan, because that’s where the first clusters of cases were picked up, he said, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that is where Case Zero was, according to Ryan. 

“If you follow the data and the science, you will find, hopefully, the point at which the disease crossed the species barrier,” he said.

Finding Case Zero helps to distinguish this crossing of the barrier between species.

“It is important that we find that, because as long as the animal-human breach has not been discovered, there’s always a chance that that barrier can be breached again," he said.

Although finding this breach is important, it can take some time, according to Ryan, who said It took years for MERS, and has never been fully established for SARS.

 The world is at greater risk for these species breaches, Ryan said.

“We are pressuring the biologic system. We live in a biome. We live in a world of biology. And we are creating – actively creating – the pressures that are driving the breaches of those barriers,” he said. “And we need to do better at managing the risks associated with that.”

US stocks advanced slightly Monday morning as Wall Street tried to gauge how much President Trump’s recent executive actions would stimulate the economy.

Trump announced this weekend he would go around Congress to deliver aid to Americans affected by the pandemic. But a close read of the actual text of the executive actions he signed Saturday suggests that even if they are deemed constitutional, they will not quickly deliver the aid Trump promised. They may not deliver much at all.

Here's how things looked at the opening:

WHO Health Emergencies Programme Director Michael Ryan attends a press conference on July 3 at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Fabrice Coffrini/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

There was always a chance that Covid-19 would flare up again, even after it was suppressed, and countries need to focus on their response to these flare-ups, according to World Health Organization officials.

“There was always a likelihood that diseases, that we have said – it would spike and there would be flare ups of the virus – because until the virus has gone, there’s always a chance of flare-ups,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, during a news briefing in Geneva on Monday.

Countries really need to focus their response on the inevitable flareups, Ryan said – how fast and how effectively they respond to them, and if they are able to shut them down as quickly as possible, and move on to the next flare-up.

Once the virus has been bought down to a low level and these flare-ups do occur, how quickly a country or area is able to respond to them, and how localized they can be in their response, really comes down to how well they have invested in the ability to do things such as surveillance, quarantine and contact tracing, according to Ryan.

While viruses often show seasonality when there are not control measures in place, Covid-19 has not shown this. But, what it has “clearly demonstrated is you take the pressure off the virus, the virus bounces back,” Ryan said.

“That’s the reality. That’s the fact. You can call that a second wave, you can call that a second spike, you can call that a flare-up. You can call it anything you like. Take the pressure off this virus, the virus will bounce back,” he said.

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead for Covid-19, agreed with Ryan.

Everyone on the planet should know what their role is in the fight against Covid-19 and manage their own risk, she said.

There is no indication of seasonality. The virus hasn’t gone away and that the majority of the population remains susceptible to infection, she said.

“So, we have to do everything that we can to prevent infections and save lives,” Van Kerkhove said. “Do it all. Physical distance, wear a mask where appropriate, make sure you practice respiratory etiquette, avoid crowded settings, follow national guidance, be informed. All of this needs to be done every day.”

A US Postal Service truck drives down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, on April 23. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

The Trump administration is making new inroads into the operations of the US Postal Service, raising fears that the agency is degrading services ahead of a surge of votes being cast through the mail in the November election.

As President Trump has launched a relentless attack on vote-by-mail elections, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has inserted himself into the Postal Service's finances and a major Trump donor was selected to lead the USPS —steps critics warn have opened up the independent government agency to undue political influence.

New Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who took over in June, is under pressure to reverse dramatic cost-cutting measures and prepare the Postal Service for a flood of mail-in ballots this fall.

Last week, Mnuchin struck a loan deal with the Postal Service giving him access to details of its 10 biggest service contracts, likely including Amazon — a move that could give the administration new ammunition to push the USPS to agree to one of Trump's pet projects, raising its shipping prices.

And in another sign of Mnuchin's involvement in the Postal Service's dealings, the Treasury secretary received briefings from the USPS Board of Governors to discuss the appointment of DeJoy as postmaster general earlier this year, a source familiar with the matter told CNN, an irregular arrangement that has not happened in past appointments.

In heated discussions with DeJoy on Wednesday, Democrats demanded that the Postal Service repeal cutbacks that have slowed the mail already, months before the November elections. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told CNN on Thursday that Democrats called on DeJoy "to pull back on these cutbacks on overtime and employees, so all the mail can be delivered on time on Election Day."

"We pushed it. It's gotta be 100%, not 94%, not 97%," Schumer said, adding: "We don't fully trust them — with everything Trump has said about the Post Office -- and they're Trump appointees."

In a letter to DeJoy on Thursday, Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the postmaster general had confirmed the cutbacks in their Wednesday meeting, and they again called on him to reverse them.

Some background: The moves that have unfolded just six weeks into DeJoy's tenure have cast new doubts about the ability of the Postal Service to handle what is shaping up to be a major increase in mail-in voting in November as the country grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Democrats charge that the service cuts smack of political influence when they come at the same time that Trump is falsely claiming mail-in voting will result in massive fraud.

Read more here.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on August 6. Carolyn Kaster/AP

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer denied President Trump’s claim that Democrats called him to resume negotiations, and said he has not seen any evidence that the President is personally involved in the negotiations for the next coronavirus relief bill.

Schumer went on to say, “I’ve seen zero evidence that he’s involved at all.” Schumer noted that during negotiations over the last stimulus bill he spoke to the President, but said that they have not spoken since.  

“He just makes things up,” Schumer said of the President’s executive actions over the weekend, adding that he thinks Trump's measures are "laughable." 

Schumer also criticized Trump’s Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow’s appearance on CNN’s State of the Union yesterday, saying Kudlow “had no idea what the executive order actually said.”

But Schumer also presented an optimistic view of how negotiations could now move forward in light of the President’s executive actions this weekend.

“It may well be that the Republicans are willing to now sit down with us because they see what they were hanging their hat on, these executive orders, are just being more or less regarded at best as ineffective,” Schumer said.

For Lease signs are seen on the balcony of a now closed restaurant in West Hollywood, California on August 3. Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images

Restaurants help establish the unique character of our communities.

But "restaurants are dying," says legendary chef Marcus Samuelsson. "Four out of five of our favorite independent restaurants may not survive this shutdown."

That heartbreak is increasingly common as independent restaurant owners face an economic apocalypse. Together, they make up a half million small businesses across the country, directly employing 11 million Americans, with an economic impact that is felt up and down the supply chain, from farmers to fishermen.

Most survived on small profit margins before the Covid-19 crisis compelled many to temporarily close, and re-open at 25% capacity, operating with skeleton crews doing takeout and serving food outdoors when the weather permits. (But remember: Once the weather turns cold, the outdoor seating work-arounds will no longer be operative — and without a vaccine, many will be forced to close their doors forever.)

Now, they're trying to convince Congress to throw them a much needed lifeline in the form of the Restaurants Act, a bipartisan bill to establish a $120 billion grant program distributed through the Treasury Department.

Despite one-third of Congress co-sponsoring the bill, it has not been taken up by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as negotiations for a new round of relief drags on. One of the bill's original co-sponsors, Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker said in a statement to CNN that, "The growing momentum for the Restaurants Act in the Senate and the House is something that should be considered as the next recovery package comes together ...This relief is also critical for other businesses in the restaurant supply chain like farms, bakeries, beverage distributors, and truckers."

Read more from Avalon here.

Antonio Banderas arrives for the 92nd Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on February 9. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

Spanish actor and Oscar nominee Antonio Banderas revealed he has tested positive for coronavirus, in an Instagram post on Monday. 

Posting on his 60th birthday, Banderas said he is marking the occasion while in quarantine and is feeling "relatively well, just a bit more tired than normal."

Banderas added he will use this time of recovery to "read, write, rest" and continue making plans to mark his milestone birthday. 

See his Instagram post:

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany dismissed speculation that Trump’s executive actions, which she specifically called “executive orders,” were a negotiation tactic.

What this is about: With stimulus talks stalled, Trump announced this weekend he would go around Congress to deliver aid to Americans affected by the pandemic. A close read of the actual text of executive actions he signed Saturday suggests that even if they are deemed constitutional, they will not quickly deliver the aid Trump promised. You can read more about what's in the actions here.

The Cherokee County School District in Georgia says 19 students and 4 members of the teachers and staff have tested positive for coronavirus since the start of the school year one week ago. 

The district confirmed the positive cases through their online notification system. 

At least 16 schools across the county are impacted the district said. 

Impacted students and teachers are being told to self-quarantine for two weeks, according to the district. 

This is not the only impacted school district in the state. Last week, Georgia's largest school district confirmed that around 260 employees have either tested positive for Covid-19 or have been exposed.

The Gwinnett County School District (GCPS) employees won't be returning to school just yet as districts across the country continue to adjust their back-to-school plans to prevent the spread of the virus.