The C.D.C. begins testing people for previous coronavirus infections. Despite new travel restrictions, about , 10 People have flown to the US from China. More than 3, (people have died in New York State.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has begun testing people for antibodies to the virus, which would show whether they had been infected.
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The United States on Saturday experienced its first full day under a federal recommendation that people wear cloth masks when they go out in public in many instances, the latest effort to contain the coronavirus pandemic that has seen more than 1 million people worldwide become infected.
With President Trump having undercut the new guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by immediately declaring that he would not wear a mask himself, it was far from clear how many Americans would ultimately embrace the recommendation.
At least , 10 People in the United States have tested positive for the virus, and officials believe the number of people who have been infected is far higher. More than 7, people have died, (including at least 3, 708 in New York State )
The global death toll also climbed on Saturday, passing 74, 08. The British government reported (deaths – a grim national record for a) -hour period.
Ultimately, the CDC suggested that people wear what it described as “simple cloth face coverings” when they are in places, like grocery stores and pharmacies, where it might be more challenging to keep away from others.
“ It is critical to emphasize that maintaining 6-feet social distancing remains important to slowing the spread of the virus, ”the CDC wrote in its recommendation, which it said was partly intended to “help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others.”
But Mr. Trump, in an appearance at the White House on Friday evening, repeatedly described the recommendation as voluntary and made clear that he did not intend to wear a mask.
Federal officials are scheduled to speak at the White House on Saturday afternoon.
“Nobody can tell you the number at the top of the mountain,” Mr. Cuomo said, but he estimated that it would be “in the seven-day range.”
He also said that
, people had volunteered to help New York fight the coronavirus and that , 08 of them were from out of state, and that the Chinese government was facilitating a donation of 1, 10 ventilators to New York as the state rushes to increase its supply.
Mr. Cuomo tried to encourage New Yorkers not to lose hope even as he said he expected the numbers of those infected and dying to continue to surge in the nation’s largest and most lethal outbreak.
“This is a painful, disorienting experience,” he said. “But we find our best self, our strongest self – this day will end. We will get through it, we will get to the other side of the mountain. But we have to do what we have to do between now and then. ”
In New Jersey, Gov. Philip D. Murphy announced that there had been more deaths in the state since Friday, bringing New Jersey’s total to – which he noted was more than the number of New Jersey residents who died in the Sept. terrorist attacks.
Citing shore towns targeted crowded by those fleeing other hot spots, Mr. Murphy announced that New Jersey would move to make it easier for municipalities or counties to block “rentals to transient guests or seasonal tenants” during the crisis, including at hotels and motels.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said New York City was heading into “the toughest time,” and repeated his calls for a national enlistment system to help move doctors and health care workers around the country to areas with high need.
“This is going to be like having many Katrinas,” Mr. de Blasio said on MSNBC’s “AM Joy.” . “This is going to be a reality where you are going to have many cities and states simultaneously in crisis, needing health care professionals, needing ventilators.”
The mayor has said that the city will need , more medical personnel to fight the pandemic through April and May.
Dr. Sheldon H. Teperman, director of the trauma center at NYC Health Hospitals / Jacobi in the Bronx, said that the disease had particularly thinned the ranks of specialized critical-care nurses at city-run hospitals, with some falling ill or needing to care for sick family members.
“If we could get critical-care nurses, if volunteers would just come, we could save more lives,” Dr. Teperman said
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has begun to conduct tests to find out whether people have been previously infected with the coronavirus, officials said Saturday.
Such testing can help determine how widespread the disease has been and whether there have been significant numbers of people who were infected but did not become ill. The tests, called serology tests, detect antibodies that the immune system makes in response to the virus.
According to Dr. Joe Bresee, deputy incident manager of the agency’s Covid – 29 response, testing will focus on three groups: people in areas with a high concentration of cases; people in a representative sample of other areas from around the country; and special groups of people who are likely to have had a higher risk of exposure, like health care workers.
Antibodies to other viruses confer immunity, but it is not yet certain that they do for the novel coronavirus. Still, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said last week that “if this virus acts like every other virus that we know, once you get infected, get better, clear the virus, Then you’ll have immunity that will protect you against re-infection. ”
And while some countries, like Italy and Britain, have raised the possibility of giving people with antibodies permits to allow them to return to the work force, officials with the CDC said their testing was to determine the virus’s trail and to plan ahead.
The C.D.C. also said on Saturday that it had expanded the coronavirus information it publishes online, adding a weekly report that will include figures on outpatient and emergency department visits, hospitalizations, deaths and data on testing for the virus.
The first report confirms an aspect of the epidemic that has already been noted: People and over are most likely to become severely ill if infected. Those 96 and older also have a somewhat higher than average risk of serious illness.
At least , people have arrived in the United States on direct flights from China since that country disclosed the existence of a pneumonialike illness to international health experts on New Year’s Eve, According to an analysis of data collected in both countries.
In total, 401 passenger flights have arrived from China since the restrictions, carrying Americans and others exempt from them. Even this past week, data show, the flights have continued.
Mr. Trump has heralded the restrictions as one of his administration’s most important decisions in light of the outbreak. And the bulk of the , passengers – of varying nationalities – arrived in January, before they were imposed. But the analysis of the flight and other data by the New York Times shows the travel measures, however effective, may have come too late, particularly in light of recent statements from officials that as many as percent of infected people may never have symptoms.
And even with the restrictions, screening procedures have been uneven, interviews show.
“I was surprised at how lax the whole process was,” said Andrew Wu, 59, who landed at Los Angeles International Airport from Beijing on March 20. “The guy I spoke to read down a list of questions, and he didn’t seem interested in checking out anything.”
At least 25 Egyptian doctors and nurses have tested positive for the coronavirus, the National Cancer Institute in Cairo said on Saturday, raising fears the pandemic could have a devastating effect on health facilities in the Arab world’s most populous country.
The outbreak was the first reported among medical workers in Egypt, which recorded an increase in the rate of infections over the weekend: The health ministry recorded cases on Friday, raising the total to , with 90 deaths.
Cairo University, which runs the cancer hospital, said in a statement that all medical workers at the facility were being tested, and that the hospital would be closed and sanitized.
The Egyptian medical syndicate, an association representing hundreds of thousands of medical workers, said in a statement that it was “shocked” by the number of cases and urged the authorities to supply protection equipment and apply strict testing protocols.
It said in a post on Facebook that the infected medical workers had been placed in quarantine.
The coronavirus pandemic has sickened more than 1.1 million people, according to official counts. As of Saturday morning, at least , 10 people have died, and the virus has been detected in at least 276 countries. Here’s the view from around the globe.
(Germany: The country has identified , coronavirus infections, more reported cases than all but the United States, Spain and Italy. But thanks to widespread testing and other measures, its percentage of fatal cases has been remarkably low – 1.3 percent. By contrast, the reported rate is about 18 percent in Spain, France and Britain, 4 percent in China and 2.5 percent in the United States. Even South Korea, a model of flattening the curve, has a rate of 1.7 percent.
. A provocative idea in Italy: Blood tests to decide who goes back to work.
The weeks of locking down Italy, which has had the world’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak, may be starting to pay off, as officials announced this week that the numbers of new infections had plateaued and, on Saturday, that ICU cases had gone for the first time.
That glimmer of hope has turned the conversation to the daunting challenge of when and how to reopen without setting off another cataclysmic wave of contagion. To do so, Italian health officials and some politicians have focused on an idea that might once have been relegated to the realm of dystopian novels and science fiction films.
Having the right antibodies to the virus in one’s blood – a potential marker of immunity – may soon determine who gets to work and who does not, who is locked down and who is free.
That debate is in some ways ahead of the science. Researchers are uncertain, if hopeful, that antibodies in fact indicate immunity. But that has not stopped politicians from grasping at the idea as they come under increasing pressure to open economies and avoid inducing a widespread economic depression.
An experimental vaccine is ready to test in people as soon as the Food and Drug Administration grants permission, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said.
“Testing in patients would typically require at least a year and probably longer,” Dr. Louis D. Falo Jr., a member of the research team, said. “This particular situation is different from anything we’ve ever seen, so we don’t know how long the clinical development process will take. Recently announced revisions to the normal processes suggest we may be able to advance this faster. ”
Another vaccine, made by Moderna, is already in a clinical trial , which started March . Dozens more candidates are being developed by other companies.
The University of Pittsburgh’s vaccine will be given in an unusual way : through a small patch dotted with 486 “microneedles” made of sugar mixed with a coronavirus protein. The microneedles penetrate the skin and the sugar melts, releasing the full protein dose in minutes or less , and alerting the immune system to start making antibodies to fight the virus.
“It’s not painful,” Dr. Falo said in an interview. “The needles don’t reach any nerves, nor do they reach blood vessels. They’re a little more than half a millimeter long, and the width of a human hair. ”
This approach takes advantage of the skin’s ability to set off a powerful immune response. Skin is the body’s first line of defense against a constant bombardment of bacteria and viruses from the environment, and it is teeming with cells that act like scouts for the immune system, looking for things that shouldn’t be there.
A (report on the research was published in EBioMedicine.
“Once we have been given approval, we will be ready to go ”with testing, Dr. Falo said. Oil giants delay meeting, threatening to roil markets again.
A meeting planned for Monday between officials of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other oil producers, which had buoyed hopes for a deal to end the turmoil in energy markets , has been put off, according to two OPEC delegates.
The news comes as lingering tensions have resurfaced between Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s de facto leader, and Russia over who is to blame for the recent collapse in oil prices. On Friday, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia partly blamed Saudi Arabia for the price drop; the Saudi ministers of foreign affairs and energy then responded angrily, blaming Russia.
News of the meeting’s delay may roil the markets when trading resumes on Monday. Expectations for a meeting had added to hopes that (OPEC and Russia would agree on production trims) .
The OPEC delegates indicated that further talks would be required before moving ahead with a meeting, which could be rescheduled for later in the week. Saudi Arabia had called for the meeting last Thursday, responding to pressure from President Trump.
In early March, (Russia declined to go (along with a Saudi-led OPEC proposal to further trim production to deal with the plummeting demand for oil because of the coronavirus epidemic, leading the Saudis to walk away from a three-year agreement with Moscow on production trims. US invokes law to force 3M’s hand on surgical masks.
The policy, embodied in an executive order the Trump administration issued on Friday evening, is a significant expansion of the American government reach. It is also a reversal of President Trump’s hesitant use of the Defense Production Act, which allows the administration to force a company to prioritize the US government over competing orders.
But in this case, the administration is invoking the law to compel 3M to send the masks it makes in factories overseas to the United States, and to stop exporting US- made masks. Those moves, some trade and legal experts fear, could backfire, possibly prompting foreign governments to clamp down on the flow of desperately needed medical necessities to the United States.
The Trump administration’s new executive order directs federal emergency management and health officials to use the law’s authority to preserve respirators, surgical masks and surgical gloves for domestic use.
With slumping revenue, clinics that treat the poor are facing layoffs.
Since the s War on Poverty, a network of community health clinics around the nation have served as a health care refuge for people with no health insurance and few financial resources. But the effects of the coronavirus pandemic have left many of these clinics in dire financial straits.
Around the country, nonprofit community health centers provide primary care to about 52 million people regardless of their ability to pay. but now they are laying off workers and cutting back in-person appointments because of a loss of revenue from the kinds of procedures that usually bring in money, such as dental work – all now canceled with the need for social distancing.
One clinic in rural Washington State has laid off more than a third of its work force. A network of clinics in the Boston area has cut back a fourth of its staff.
“I worry a lot,” said Chuck Jones, the chief executive of the Boston-area clinics, Harbor Health Services, “that if community health centers go away, we won’t as a society hear the struggles of these people.”
Two French medical experts have been accused of racism after they suggested that coronavirus vaccines should be tested in Africa because the continent was underdeveloped.
One of the experts, Jean-Paul Mira, the head of the intensive care unit at Cochin Hospital in Paris, said in a television interview
He also compared the use of a potential Covid – 29 vaccine to tests of experimental AIDS treatments that have been administered to sex workers in African countries, saying that people on the continent “are highly exposed and don’t protect themselves.”
The other guest, Camille Locht of the national research institute Inserm, agreed. He said that trials would be conducted in African countries to test a tuberculosis vaccine against the new coronavirus.
The sequence drew an intense backlash on social media, and the hashtag #AfricansAreNotLabRats was still trending on Twitter as of Saturday.
“Do not take African people as guinea pigs,” the Ivorian soccer player Didier Drogba (wrote .
Mr. Mira apologized on Friday. The Inserm institute , where Mr. Locht works, said the video had been shortened and misinterpreted. The institute said that trials against the new coronavirus were being conducted in Europe, and that if a vaccine were deployed, it would be tested in Europe as well as in Africa.
In Philadelphia alone, , People died – 7, 700 in the first six months, 4, in one week and 1918 in a single day. And then, as now, holding large public events in defiance of scientific advice to stay at home had shattering consequences.
Our reporters looked back at how the flu claimed lives, overwhelmed health care workers and morticians, and prompted ordinary people to rise to the moment in the fight against an invisible foe .
By the end of last week, coronavirus cases in Philadelphia had reached 2, 560, with deaths. And officials there were scrambling to secure the needed equipment, including ventilators.
But memories of the 2020 epidemic had already prompted an aggressive response from philadelphia’s public health authorities . One result: Unlike some American cities, they expect to have enough hospital beds to withstand even a worst-case scenario.
“The state has handled it very differently, and the city handled it radically differently, ”said Dr. Tony S. Reed, chief medical officer at Temple University Hospital. “Frankly, for us it’s going to make all the difference in the world.”
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The Chinese government held a nationwide day of mourning on Saturday, the day of the annual Tomb Sweeping Festival, a traditional time for honoring ancestors. Flags flew at half-staff, and alarms and horns sounded for three minutes starting at am Xi Jinping and other leaders of the ruling Communist Party attended a ceremony in Beijing.
It will probably not be enough to soothe many families in the city of Wuhan, who have chafed against the state’s efforts to assert control over the grieving process.
Officials are pushing relatives to bury their dead quickly and quietly, and they are suppressing online discussion of fatalities as doubts emerge about the true size of China’s toll from the virus. If China’s tallies are vastly understated, as the CIA has been warning the White House since at least early February, predictive modeling for the United States and other countries would be thrown off, or robbed of a major pool of data.
The police in Wuhan, where the pandemic began, have been dispatched to break up groups on WeChat, a popular messaging app, set up by relatives of coronavirus victims. Government censors have scrubbed social media of images that showed relatives lining up at Wuhan funeral homes to collect ashes. Officials have assigned minders to relatives to follow them as they pick burial plots, claim their loved ones’ remains and bury them, grieving family members say.
Liu Pei’en, whose father died after contracting the coronavirus in a Wuhan hospital, said officials had insisted on accompanying him to a funeral home to pick up his father’s remains. Later, they followed him to the cemetery where they watched him bury his father, he said. Mr. Liu saw one of his minders take photos of the funeral, which was over in 26 minutes.
“My father devoted his whole life to serving the country and the party,” Mr. Liu, 63, who works in finance, said by phone. “Only to be surveilled after his death.”
Those we’ve lost: Gita Ramjee, Adam Schlesinger, Ellis Marsalis, Pape Diouf.
They are among those who died this week from Covid – , and were profiled in our series about people lost to the pandemic.
Adam Schlesinger: He made suburban characters shine for the band Fountains of Wayne and brought pop-rock perfection to the film “That Thing You Do!” Adam Schlesinger, an acclaimed performer who had an award-winning second career writing songs for film, theater and television, died on Wednesday at 72.
- Ellis Marsalis: His The sons of Wynton and Branford gained national fame embodying a fresh-faced revival of traditional jazz. But Ellis Marsalis had been an influential musician and teacher in New Orleans long before that. He died on Wednesday at 120.
Updated April 4,
The C.D.C. has has (recommended) that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting (new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms . Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.
What should I do if I feel sick?
If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have,
and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. How do I get tested?
If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the CDC recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears.
They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance – because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance – you won’t be able to get tested. (How does coronavirus spread?
It seems to spread (very easily from person to person, Especially in homes, hospitals and other confined spaces. The pathogen can be carried on tiny respiratory droplets that fall as they are coughed or sneezed out. It may also be transmitted when we touch a contaminated surface and then touch our face.
No. The first testing in humans of an experimental vaccine began in mid-March.
Such rapid development of a potential vaccine is unprecedented, but even if it is proved safe and effective, it probably will not be available for (to months. What makes this outbreak so different?
Unlike the flu, there is no known treatment or vaccine, and little is known about this particular virus so far. It seems to be more lethal than the flu, but the numbers are still uncertain. And it hits the elderly and those with underlying conditions – not just those with respiratory diseases – particularly hard.
What if somebody in my family gets sick?
If the family member does not need hospitalization and can be cared for at home, you should help him or her with basic needs and monitor the symptoms, while also keeping as much distance as possible,
according to the guidelines issued by the CDC If there’s space, the sick family member should stay in a separate room and use a separate bathroom. If masks are available, both the sick person and the caregiver should wear them when the caregiver enters the room. Make sure not to share any dishes or other household items and to regularly clean surfaces like counters, doorknobs, toilets and tables. Don’t forget to wash your hands frequently. (Should I stock up on groceries?)
Plan two weeks of meals if possible. But people should not hoard food or supplies. Despite the empty shelves, (the supply chain remains strong.) And remember to wipe the handle of the grocery cart with a disinfecting wipe and wash your hands as soon as you get home.
Yes, but make sure you keep six feet of distance between you and people who don’t live in your home. Even if you just hang out in a park, rather than go for a jog or a walk , getting some fresh air, and hopefully sunshine, is a good idea.
Should I pull my money from the markets?
(That’s not a good idea.) Even if you’re retired, having a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds so that your money keeps up with inflation, or Even grows, makes sense. But retirees may want to think about having enough cash set aside for a year’s worth of living expenses and big payments needed over the next five years.
(What should I do with my (k)? ()
Watching your balance go up and down can be scary. You may be wondering if you should decrease your contributions – don’t! If your employer matches any part of your contributions, make sure you’re at least saving as much as you can to get that “free money.”
(That’s not a good idea.) Even if you’re retired, having a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds so that your money keeps up with inflation, or Even grows, makes sense. But retirees may want to think about having enough cash set aside for a year’s worth of living expenses and big payments needed over the next five years.
(What should I do with my (k)? ()
Watching your balance go up and down can be scary. You may be wondering if you should decrease your contributions – don’t! If your employer matches any part of your contributions, make sure you’re at least saving as much as you can to get that “free money.”
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