New surges prove fighting virus requires 'sustained pressure', WHO official says

4 years ago 214

16 min ago

Coronavirus "requires sustained pressure to reduce transmission," WHO official says

From CNN's Gisela Crespo

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

Governments and individuals need to put "sustained pressure" on Covid-19 to reduce transmission and exposure, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s health emergencies program, said on Wednesday.

Asked if countries are seeing a second wave of the virus, Ryan said during a Q&A on social media: "There has been this perception that this disease would behave a little bit like influenza, and it would have a natural peak and then it would disappear for a while, and then it would come back in the Northern Hemisphere in the autumn. I think we've always said that we didn't know that."

Ryan compared the behavior of the virus to a spring, explaining, "When we push the virus down, we suppress transmission. Release pressure, it bounces back up. Now you could call that a second peak, a second wave, you can call it what you like. What it means to me is this [virus] requires sustained pressure to reduce transmission, and it requires sustained commitment to reduce exposure."

"I would say that there is no second wave as such. What we're seeing is the virus naturally re-emerging when we take the pressure off," Ryan later added.

The WHO official called on governments to work on suppressing transmission through testing, contact tracing and quarantining, while communities and individuals "need to do everything they can to reduce their exposure to the virus."

"In countries where we've seen well-managed efforts on the part of governments to suppress transmission. And where we've seen communities empowered to reduce their exposure, we see success," Ryan said.

18 min ago

First House Republican votes by proxy during the pandemic

From CNN's Haley Byrd

Rep. Francis Rooney conducts a television interview on October 18, 2019. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Rep. Francis Rooney, a retiring Florida Republican, became the first GOP House member to vote by proxy during the pandemic this afternoon.

Rep. Don Beyer, a Virginia Democrat, cast Rooney’s vote on a procedural matter for him.

Some context: Republicans have attacked the proxy voting rules for months, saying members should have to be physically present to vote.

Rooney had previously indicated he could make use of the remote voting provisions when he designated Beyer as his proxy, but he has not actually cast a vote by proxy until now.

Beyer’s communications director wrote that there were “audible gasps in the chamber” when Beyer cast Rooney’s vote for him.

The last time Rooney voted in the House was in February, according to his House website.

27 min ago

8 Penn State student-athletes have tested positive for Covid-19

From CNN's Dan Kamal

Penn State University has announced that eight student-athletes of the 466 tested as part of the school’s return to campus protocol have tested positive for Covid-19.

The tests were completed as of July 24, with 66 results still pending.

"The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, staff and the broader community are of the utmost importance," the university said in a statement. "Therefore, as part of the protocols established in the return to campus plan by the Penn State Athletics medical staff and in consultation with University, local and national officials and guidelines, individuals with a positive test have been put into isolation for 14 days and will be retested at that point."

In addition to the isolation measures, university officials said contact tracing measures have been implemented, which include quarantine and testing for individuals who might have been exposed.

40 min ago

California reports 197 new Covid-19 deaths, a single-day record for the state

From CNN's Cheri Mossburg

California is breaking a grim record, reporting 197 Covid-related deaths in a single day, according to the state's Department of Public Health. This report far outpaces the previous high of 159 from just last week.

“Tragically, California surpassed another somber milestone today: 197 deaths. Our highest reported in a single day,” Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted.

Also climbing in the state are daily cases. California added 8,755 new cases, bringing the state’s cumulative total to 475,305 cases. Today's marked increase in cases may be the result of a backlog in test results, as noted by Health Secretary Mark Ghaly Tuesday.

The positivity rate appears steady at 7.4% over the past 14 days. Nearly 100,000 tests were conducted yesterday and more than 7.5 million have been performed in California to date. Hospitalization rates also remain stable over the past several days.

Los Angeles County still holds the most coronavirus cases in the state, but as cases climb elsewhere, it currently makes up for only about 37% of all California cases, down from nearly 50% earlier in the pandemic.

That may be short-lived as Los Angeles County Public Health “anticipates receiving a backlog in cases in the coming days due to previous reporting delays in the State electronic lab system.”

Note: These numbers were released by California Department of Public Health, and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

35 min ago

France reports more than 1,300 new Covid-19 cases

From Eva Tapiero and Lauren Kent

Healthcare workers prepare to administer coronavirus tests to people in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France, on Monday, July 27. Bob Edme/AP

France reported 1,392 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, representing the highest daily increase in cases in more than a month, according to the latest data from the French National Health Agency.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in France now stands at 185,196, according to the National Health Agency. There was also 15 more deaths related to Covid-19, bringing the death toll to 30,238.

The health agency data also said the number of coronavirus patients in the hospital is steadily decreasing.

Some context: The National Health Agency said Wednesday that the circulation of the virus is still increasing, and the coronavirus reproduction rate (R rate) in France is now above 1.3.

“Aside from the slowly declining intensive care unit occupancy rate, indicators for the Covid-19 pandemic show an increase in the virus circulation,” the National Health Agency said in a statement.

"The health crisis is not over," French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal said during a Wednesday news conference. “We have seen our neighbors toughening their measures. We will continue to adapt the rules in the days and weeks to come depending on the evolution of the epidemic."

Wearing face masks in indoor public spaces has been mandatory in France since July 20.

1 hr 39 min ago

New York City has reported more than 23,000 probable and confirmed Covid-19 deaths

From CNN's Rob Frehse

New York City has 18,887 confirmed coronavirus deaths and 4,625 probable coronavirus deaths as of July 29, according to the most recent data on the city website.

The New York City Health Department defines probable deaths as people who did not have a positive Covid-19 laboratory test, but their death certificate lists as the cause of death “Covid-19” or an equivalent.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus deaths and probable coronavirus deaths in New York City is 23,512.

More details: There have been at least 221,220 coronavirus cases in the city and 56,099 people have been hospitalized, according to the city.

The data is from the New York City Health Department and was updated on July 29 at 1 p.m. ET, according to the website.

Note: The numbers may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

1 hr 26 min ago

Indianapolis Public Schools is recommending a remote learning model for this academic year

From CNN's Elizabeth Stuart

Charo Woodcock cleans a classroom at McClelland Elementary School in Indianapolis on Monday, June 22. The Indianapolis Public Schools administration is recommending that the upcoming school year begin with 100% remote learning for all students. The district had previously planned to start with a hybrid option of some in-person and some remote learning. Darron Cummings/AP

The Indianapolis Public Schools administration is recommending that the upcoming school year begin with 100% remote learning for all students when school starts on August 17.

This marks a reversal from the district's previous plan to start with a hybrid option of some in-person and some remote learning. The first day of school had already been pushed back by two weeks.

The recommendation, which was announced in a press release Wednesday, will be heard and voted on by the Board of Education on Thursday. If approved, in-person learning will be delayed until at least October, "which will allow more time for the number of Covid-19 cases in Marion County to stabilize and decrease to a less dangerous level," the release said.

Some context: Cases in Indiana have been on the rise, with 630 new positive cases reported yesterday, according to data from the state.

The state had 837 Covid-19 hospitalizations on July 28, compared to 626 a month ago.

Indianapolis Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said in a tweet Wednesday the decision was incredibly difficult.

"I pray that our community takes seriously the responsibilities we all have in creating the health conditions that will allow for a (more) safe return to our school buildings. We've got work to do, so let's do it," Johnson said.

According to the release, all students in the Indianapolis Public Schools district will receive either an iPad or Chromebook for the new school year.

The district will also make hot spots available to families who don't have access to the internet.

1 hr 48 min ago

GOP senator on stimulus package: "There's no consensus on anything"

From CNN's Phil Mattingly, Manu Raju and Austen Bundy

Sen. John Cornyn listens during a news conference in Washington, DC, on Monday, July 27. Susan Walsh/AP

GOP Sen. John Cornyn underscored the current difficulties to agree on a stimulus package when he summarized the closed-door lunch with top White House negotiators like this: “There’s no consensus on anything. Just a lot of expression of views.”

As he left the lunch, Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, criticized what he thinks is excessive and nonessential spending in the GOP's stimulus bill — and says there's a "lot of frustration" among Republicans.

"There's a lot of — there's a lot of non-coronavirus spending on in this deal. And I call it spending porn because the bill was supposed to be about coronavirus. When I offer my ideas to the limited extent I was able. I was told well we have to make a connection to coronavirus, and my idea is dead, I think, well that's a fair requirement. And then I, you pick up the deal. And you find all this extraneous stuff. And it's not a newsflash that a lot of people are going to become frustrated. And there was a lot of frustration. Now, some of my colleagues, don't want to talk about it. But I'm going to talk about it. If it upsets somebody, they need to talk, they need to call somebody who cares because I don't, I've got to represent my state."

He didn't get into the details about what he considers "spending porn."

2 hr 13 min ago

Fed keeps interest rates near zero and says the economic recovery depends on the pandemic

From CNN’s Anneken Tappe

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged near zero in its monetary policy update Wednesday, and it once again reiterated that the economic recovery will depend on the path of the virus.

"The ongoing public health crisis will weigh heavily on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term, and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term," the central bank said in a statement.

Even though the economy was beginning to rebound after grinding to a halt during the pandemic lockdown in the spring, the level of economic activity was still well below the levels from the start of the year, the Fed said.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.

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