thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-30--Why Coronavirus Cases Are Spiking Around the World

In the United Kingdom , July 4 is being hailed as its own sort of British Independence Day , a “ Super Saturday ” when many of the country ’ s remaining coronavirus lockdown restrictions are being lifted or relaxed .
The end of the country ’ s “ long national hibernation , ” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week , will be marked by the reopening of pubs , restaurants , hair salons , hotels , museums , theaters and other venues .
Social distancing measures are being softened , and individuals will be allowed to spend time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Frankly I can ’ t wait to go to a pub or a restaurant , ” Johnson said at a news conference last week .
“ I think people need to go out , and I think they need to enjoy themselves , and rediscover things that they haven ’ t been able to do for a long time.
” Even as Johnson and other world leaders declare victory , however , the virus has delivered a series of unsettling reality checks .
There have been increases in cases recently in Germany @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and New Zealand .
In the United States , the number of coronavirus cases has been surging in many states .
And in the U.K. the government on Monday evening introduced its first local lockdown , isolating 330,000 people in the city of Leicester from the rest of the country after the number of cases there spiked .
“ We all want this to be over .
We all want to get on with our lives .
But the hard reality is this is not even close to being over , ” Tedros @ @ @ @ @ @ @ World Health Organization , said on Monday .
Now , as countries in Europe reopen their borders to tourism , foreign visitors may spark a rise in infections .
In Greece , for example , more than one-third of new coronavirus cases over the past week have been from foreign tourists .
In Spain , Fernando Simón , director of the Center for Coordination of Alerts and Emergencies , warned this week that cases were likely to rise in the country as travelers are encouraged to return to the country to help its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t think at the moment we ’ re seeing a single cause or single smoking gun on this , ” Ivan Browne , the city ’ s public health director , told the BBC , “ so we really need to try to dig down and find out what is going on , and it ’ s likely to be a combination of factors.
” “ Despite media campaigns to vilify some people as selfish and thoughtless ‘ covidiots , ’ the evidence on reasons for non‐adherence shows that much of it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his colleagues wrote in a recent paper in the British Journal of Social Psychology .
“ Many people had to cram into Tube trains to go to work because they needed money to survive and government support schemes were insufficient .
People were told they could go out to exercise , but those in urban areas had limited public space .
And some employers failed to provide the support for social distancing and hygiene .
Those with less income and wealth also live in more crowded homes.
” But it remains the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the lifting of lockdown restrictions doesn ’ t result in a second wave of infections .
Many health officials have looked on with dismay as the U.K. and the U.S. press ahead with reopening plans despite the lack of robust testing and tracing systems that would allow them to identify and isolate new outbreaks quickly , before they spread throughout the community .

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In the United Kingdom, July 4 is being hailed as its own sort of British Independence Day, a “Super Saturday” when many of the country’s remaining coronavirus lockdown restrictions are being lifted or relaxed. The end of the country’s “long national hibernation,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week, will be marked by the reopening of pubs, restaurants, hair salons, hotels, museums, theaters and other venues. Social distancing measures are being softened, and individuals will be allowed to spend time in the company of more people.
“Frankly I can’t wait to go to a pub or a restaurant,” Johnson said at a news conference last week. “I think people need to go out, and I think they need to enjoy themselves, and rediscover things that they haven’t been able to do for a long time.”
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Even as Johnson and other world leaders declare victory, however, the virus has delivered a series of unsettling reality checks. There have been increases in cases recently in Germany, South Korea, Italy, China and New Zealand. In the United States, the number of coronavirus cases has been surging in many states. And in the U.K. the government on Monday evening introduced its first local lockdown, isolating 330,000 people in the city of Leicester from the rest of the country after the number of cases there spiked.
“We all want this to be over. We all want to get on with our lives. But the hard reality is this is not even close to being over,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, said on Monday.
“Although many countries have made some progress, globally the pandemic is actually speeding up,” he said.
It’s tempting to blame irresponsible individuals for the spiking infection rates. Since the beginning of the pandemic and the ensuing national lockdowns, social media has been filled with posts shaming people for congregating in parks and other public spaces, milling about in front of bars and restaurants without regard for social distancing, or failing to wear face masks.
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Certainly, after so much time spent in confinement, the warm summer weather has brought with it a sense of release. In the U.K., thousands descended on the beaches of Bournemouth last week, on the hottest day thus far of the year, forcing officials to declare a “major incident.”
The easing of lockdown restrictions, combined with rising summer temperatures that lure more people outside, creates a “perfect storm” that can easily overwhelm popular tourist destinations and contribute to the spread of the coronavirus, U.K. officials say — a situation that played out in the United States when young people attended spring break festivities in Florida and Mexico despite growing public health warnings.
Now, as countries in Europe reopen their borders to tourism, foreign visitors may spark a rise in infections. In Greece, for example, more than one-third of new coronavirus cases over the past week have been from foreign tourists. In Spain, Fernando Simón, director of the Center for Coordination of Alerts and Emergencies, warned this week that cases were likely to rise in the country as travelers are encouraged to return to the country to help its economic recovery.
Beachgoers enjoy the sunshine as they sunbathe and swim on Bournemouth Beach in southern England on June 25. GLYN KIRK via Getty Images
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Many of the recent outbreaks have nothing to do with tourists enjoying their holiday or young people partying the night away in some field or former warehouse, however.
In Germany, two cities in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia were placed on lockdown last week after more than 1,500 workers at a meat processing plant tested positive for COVID-19, raising fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections.
The coronavirus has hit minority and low-income communities particularly hard. In Berlin, more than 300 households were placed under quarantine in the Neukölln neighborhood after an outbreak in an apartment complex that is home to many low-income and immigrant families.
“The people being affected right now are those who can’t even afford an apartment that’s big enough for their family,” Neukölln’s district mayor Martin Hikel told Deutsche Welle.
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In Italy as well, the government has deployed soldiers to help quarantine a residential complex in the town of Mondragone, near Naples, that is home to a community of Bulgarian farm workers, after 49 people tested positive for COVID-19.
And Bartolini, one of Italy’s major delivery companies, was recently forced to close its warehouse in Bologna after dozens of employees contracted coronavirus.
“Logistics setting remains highly risky in terms of new outbreaks: These places present a high volume of people interchange and easy crowding,” Fabrizio Pregliasco, a virologist at the University of Milan, told HuffPost Italy.
The situation in Mondragone is similar to that in North Rhine-Westphalia, he said. “The professional risk there was grafted onto a potentially explosive social element, specifically the housing conditions of exploited workers, forced to rest in dormitories with dozens of people. Such a context makes social distancing impossible.”
“We should take into account that there are sectors of the population that do not have all the tools to fully understand and to access adequate information on what needs to be done,” he added.
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Parisians dance in the street in the 6th Arrondissement as Paris celebrates the first day of summer with Fete de La Musique with bands playing across the city on June 21. Kiran Ridley via Getty Images
In Leicester, there have been news reports of crowds outside of restaurants as well as an outbreak at a local food production plant, but public officials have said that multiple factors are likely to have contributed to the spike in cases.
“I don’t think at the moment we’re seeing a single cause or single smoking gun on this,” Ivan Browne, the city’s public health director, told the BBC, “so we really need to try to dig down and find out what is going on, and it’s likely to be a combination of factors.”
Speaking to the BBC on Tuesday, U.K. health secretary Matt Hancock suggested that poverty and higher-density housing may have contributed to the outbreak.
Presenter Dan Walker also mentioned the fact that Leicester is more ethnically diverse than other areas, with some people in the community perhaps facing language barriers in accessing public health information.
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“We are still doing the work to understand exactly why the outbreak has been so bad in Leicester,” Hancock said. “But lots of the reasons that you mentioned just then are familiar to me, and people will find them intuitive.”
Shops in Oxford Circus in London celebrate the further easing of Britain's lockdown restrictions, aimed at reviving the economy, June 23. NurPhoto via Getty Images
Overall, despite the hand-wringing on social media about people not following government guidelines, scientific evidence suggests that most people have been adhering to the restrictions.
“All the government evidence shows widespread adherence to the public health measures,” John Drury, a professor at the University of Sussex and one of the country’s leading behavioral psychologists, told The Guardian recently.
Most examples of people failing to follow social distancing measures are not evidence of individual selfishness, he said, but rather of the hardships that many face and the failure of public officials to offer clear guidance or provide for their needs.
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“Despite media campaigns to vilify some people as selfish and thoughtless ‘covidiots,’ the evidence on reasons for non‐adherence shows that much of it was practical rather than psychological,” Drury and his colleagues wrote in a recent paper in the British Journal of Social Psychology. “Many people had to cram into Tube trains to go to work because they needed money to survive and government support schemes were insufficient. People were told they could go out to exercise, but those in urban areas had limited public space. And some employers failed to provide the support for social distancing and hygiene. Those with less income and wealth also live in more crowded homes.”
Now, with Boris Johnson encouraging people to eat, drink, and be merry — and the decision to relax restrictions further on a Saturday seems designed to facilitate just that — it’s no wonder that the public seems to be adopting a looser stance toward the coronavirus.
But it remains the government’s responsibility to make sure that the lifting of lockdown restrictions doesn’t result in a second wave of infections. Many health officials have looked on with dismay as the U.K. and the U.S. press ahead with reopening plans despite the lack of robust testing and tracing systems that would allow them to identify and isolate new outbreaks quickly, before they spread throughout the community.
“Test, Trace, Isolate and Quarantine,” remained the central message from the World Health Organization, Tedros said on Monday.
“With 10 million cases now and half a million deaths, unless we address the problems we’ve already identified at WHO, the lack of national unity and lack of global solidarity and the divided world which is actually helping the virus to spread ... the worst is yet to come,” he said.
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“I’m sorry to say that, but with this kind of environment and conditions we fear the worst,” he said.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-30--Yemen's Coronavirus Catastrophe Is A Global Embarrassment

The Houthis , the armed group under whom most Yemenis live , are refusing to acknowledge the extent of the outbreak and threatening people who do , fueling panic and conspiracy theories among the public while they seek to protect their own power .
The Houthis ’ opponents ― Yemen ’ s internationally recognized government , along with Saudi Arabia and the U.S. ― are failing to provide the level of needed aid or to halt bombings and a blockade of Houthi-controlled areas , causing inflation and mass hunger that makes many Yemenis especially vulnerable to COVID-19 .
Both sides @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a ceasefire , and one fighting force , a coalition of southern Yemenis supported by the United Arab Emirates , has escalated an offensive against fellow anti-Houthi fighters since Yemen reported its first coronavirus case in April .
None of the governing authorities across Yemen are seriously enforcing policies to limit the virus ’ spread ― imposing a greater burden on a health care system that has already lost half its capacity to the war and now has 700 ICU beds and 157 working ventilators for a nation of 30 million , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has provided more than $ 2 billion in aid to the country since 2015 .
But it began changing its approach just as the global pandemic grew .
In late March , the U.S. cut off tens of millions of dollars in humanitarian assistance over Houthi interference in its delivery .
Weeks later , Trump ’ s decision to end funding for the WHO worsened a funding crunch for the body , which began to wind down payments to thousands of Yemeni health workers and support for nearly 200 hospitals .
Yet it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support is reaching the people who need it most , particularly the majority of the population living in Houthi-controlled areas , lawmakers and activists say .
On May 12 , six senators asked Trump administration officials to clarify what assistance they had allowed to continue for humanitarian reasons and whether that included material to counter the coronavirus like personal protective equipment and ventilators , as well as details about where in the country the $ 225 million is going .
The Houthis are scrambling to ensure the coronavirus outbreak does not threaten their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. ’ s partners in Yemen .
As deaths mount in the crowded areas under their control , grave-diggers and guards at cemeteries have been instructed to say the dead are “ unidentified bodies from the war , ” The Associated Press revealed , and authorities rarely tell families whether it was the virus that claimed their loved ones .
Authorities turned the first quarantine facilities for people entering Yemen from abroad into a “ breeding ground ” for the virus with policies like putting more than six people in each room @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reconstruction Foundation said .
Those detainees , many of them infected , were not stopped from leaving for activities like shopping , which is how some began to buy medicine from a relative of Jumaan ’ s who is a pharmacist in the area .
He soon infected his entire household , including his elderly parents .

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In Yemen, the coronavirus pandemic is overwhelming hospitals and cemeteries. More young people are dying there than in most other countries, and the virus is spreading so fast the World Health Organization believes it could infect nearly the entire Yemeni population.
Meanwhile, almost everyone who is in a position to prevent a catastrophe is instead making the situation worse.
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The Houthis, the armed group under whom most Yemenis live, are refusing to acknowledge the extent of the outbreak and threatening people who do, fueling panic and conspiracy theories among the public while they seek to protect their own power. The Houthis’ opponents ― Yemen’s internationally recognized government, along with Saudi Arabia and the U.S. ― are failing to provide the level of needed aid or to halt bombings and a blockade of Houthi-controlled areas, causing inflation and mass hunger that makes many Yemenis especially vulnerable to COVID-19.
Both sides of the conflict are ignoring pleas for a ceasefire, and one fighting force, a coalition of southern Yemenis supported by the United Arab Emirates, has escalated an offensive against fellow anti-Houthi fighters since Yemen reported its first coronavirus case in April. None of the governing authorities across Yemen are seriously enforcing policies to limit the virus’ spread ― imposing a greater burden on a health care system that has already lost half its capacity to the war and now has 700 ICU beds and 157 working ventilators for a nation of 30 million, according to the United Nations.
“The money they have spent to destroy the lives of people in Yemen ― if they spent one tenth, one hundredth of that to develop Yemen, Yemen will be an ally to them for the rest of their history.” - Aisha Jumaan, president, Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation
The WHO predicts a coronavirus death toll of at least 65,000 in Yemen unless officials change course, its representative in the country told the medical journal The Lancet. Amid the added strain on health care resources, experts also expect more deaths among Yemenis with ailments other than COVID-19, like endemic cholera, malaria, diphtheria or dengue, and those hurt by recent cuts to humanitarian food programs.
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Just as powerful Yemenis and international players previously decided to turn Yemen into a battleground, they now seem committed to letting thousands of Yemeni families suffer ― showing that even a shared global challenge like a pandemic can’t end the country’s treatment as a global punching bag.
“The money they have spent to destroy the lives of people in Yemen ― if they spent one tenth, one hundredth of that to develop Yemen, Yemen will be an ally to them for the rest of their history,” said Aisha Jumaan, the president of the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation.
The leaders in Sanaa, Washington, Riyadh and elsewhere who will decide Yemen’s future still have a chance to get it right. But time is running short.
Refusing To Take Responsibility
The Houthis took over Yemen’s capital city of Sanaa in September 2014, despite advice not to do so from their patron, Iran. Wary of Iran’s reach, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and their allies began fighting the militants six months later to shore up the Houthi’s Yemeni opposition. Military and intelligence support from the U.S. and other wealthy Western countries has been crucial to their intervention.
Each of those players has worsened the coronavirus pandemic for Yemen.
The U.S. has provided more than $2 billion in aid to the country since 2015. But it began changing its approach just as the global pandemic grew. In late March, the U.S. cut off tens of millions of dollars in humanitarian assistance over Houthi interference in its delivery. Weeks later, Trump’s decision to end funding for the WHO worsened a funding crunch for the body, which began to wind down payments to thousands of Yemeni health workers and support for nearly 200 hospitals.
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The State Department announced nearly $225 million in emergency food aid for Yemen, where millions live in famine-like conditions, and a $1.7 million donation specifically for coronavirus relief in early May.
Yet it’s hard to know if that support is reaching the people who need it most, particularly the majority of the population living in Houthi-controlled areas, lawmakers and activists say. On May 12, six senators asked Trump administration officials to clarify what assistance they had allowed to continue for humanitarian reasons and whether that included material to counter the coronavirus like personal protective equipment and ventilators, as well as details about where in the country the $225 million is going.
A malnourished infant at a hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, in the fall of 2019. Mass hunger in the country has reduced people's capacity to fight diseases like the novel coronavirus. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The Houthis have now agreed to partially change their approach to aid, according to the U.N. Humanitarian groups also wrote a joint missive urging a more generous U.S. response, which congressional staffers are using to pressure the Trump administration, said Hassan El-Tayyab of the Friends National Committee on Legislation.
At a U.N. fundraising event for Yemen on June 2, the U.S. did not announce further funding. Another top supporter of the Saudi-led campaign in the country, Britain, promised more than $200 million, while fellow backer France pledged less than $10 million.
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The UAE, which continues to fund allies in Yemen despite officially withdrawing from the country’s civil war, offered no support, either. (The country says it has previously donated over $6 billion.)
The event ultimately raised $1.35 billion ― far less than the $3.2 billion a similar drive raised last year.
Saudi Arabia offered a fresh $300 million. The kingdom has continued its blockade of much of the country, which slows down vital imports like medicine and spare parts for equipment such as ventilators, and only paused its fight with the Houthis for a few weeks, recently resuming airstrikes that have become notorious for killing civilians.
In April, during that brief halt in fighting, UAE-backed separatists clashed with Saudi-backed forces and began a campaign to take over southern regions that continued for nearly two months.
“The country urgently needs a nationwide ceasefire and it has to be agreed by all warring sides,” said Abdulwasea Mohammed, the policy lead in Yemen for the charity Oxfam.
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The Houthis are scrambling to ensure the coronavirus outbreak does not threaten their rule or weaken their ability to withstand the U.S.’s partners in Yemen. As deaths mount in the crowded areas under their control, grave-diggers and guards at cemeteries have been instructed to say the dead are “unidentified bodies from the war,” The Associated Press revealed, and authorities rarely tell families whether it was the virus that claimed their loved ones.
Burials are being spread throughout graveyards to avoid drawing attention to how many are taking place, residents told the AP, and health workers are being harassed and facing delays in getting permits, The Lancet reported. “The authorities are trying to hide but every day there are more dead bodies and it is out of control,” a worker told the medical journal.
By making it hard to speak openly about the virus ― to the extent of refusing to release statistics on COVID-19 cases ― the Houthis have created an environment in which paranoia and disinformation can thrive. Many living under Houthi rule now believe they have told health workers to give patients lethal “mercy” injections.
“Whoever spreads this rumor is a criminal with every meaning of this term,” Jumaan said. The conspiracy theory both endangers medical professionals and makes sick people less likely to seek treatment, she noted.
A doctor in the port city of Hodeidah recently told Jumaan a story that showed how those claims had affected the situation: A patient who entered a hospital with coronavirus symptoms brought armed escorts who told medical staff that if he died, they would be killed.
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This May 2020 photo provided by a Yemeni community activist shows a man waiting for an ambulance to collect the body of a COVID-19 victim after medics declined to take the body in the Houthi-controlled city of Ibb, Yemen. ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Houthis’ key foreign ally, Iran, is struggling with its own resurgent coronavirus outbreak; after it supplied the militants with weapons for years, Tehran has said little about helping them face the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the militia is inflaming the conflict. As Houthi officials suppress the truth about the toll of COVID-19, they are suggesting that the U.S. is benefiting from the outbreak. Last week, they said they launched one of their biggest missile strikes on Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the civil war ― and promised more to come.
Confronting A New Challenge
A deadly and far-reaching initial wave of COVID-19 is now indisputable in Yemen, aid groups and experts say.
Measures to limit infection like lockdowns are only partially enforced, and most Yemenis cannot afford to stay home because of their dependence on meager daily earnings, Oxfam’s Mohammed said.
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The systems that are supposed to inhibit the crisis are breaking down. Some of the 59 isolation units established by the WHO are admitting more people than they can safely handle and running low on personal protective equipment, Mohammed told HuffPost.
Authorities turned the first quarantine facilities for people entering Yemen from abroad into a “breeding ground” for the virus with policies like putting more than six people in each room, Jumaan of the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation said. Those detainees, many of them infected, were not stopped from leaving for activities like shopping, which is how some began to buy medicine from a relative of Jumaan’s who is a pharmacist in the area. He soon infected his entire household, including his elderly parents.
Medical “facilities are already overwhelmed,” Tamuna Sabadze of the International Rescue Committee, which operates an isolation facility and a network of clinics in southern Yemen, wrote in an email.
“Suspected COVID-19 patients are being turned away … while people with other illnesses are being turned away from clinics which have been designated COVID-19 only,” Sabadze continued. “Doctors and nurses do not have sufficient PPE to continue treating the increase in patients with COVID-19 symptoms, and the severe lack of testing means COVID-19 is spreading undetected.”
Some health care workers are staying home because of the shortage in gear, she added. The virus has already killed dozens of them, local unions told the AP.
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“Trump’s decision to end funding for the WHO worsened a funding crunch for the body, which began to wind down payments to thousands of Yemeni health workers and support for nearly 200 hospitals.”
And for many Yemenis, medical care is not an option. “People who do get to the hospitals represent a drop of the total number who actually die from COVID,” Jumaan told HuffPost.
Along with inflation and poverty produced by the blockade by anti-Houthi forces, the collapse in normal governance has ended health care subsidies and made treatment significantly more expensive, respiratory specialist Hakeem Al-Jawfy recently told Science magazine.
Even when infected Yemenis do receive clinical attention, their chances of survival are often low after years of living in increasingly desperate conditions. In the southern port of Aden, mortality rates among people infected with COVID-19 are among the highest in the world, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said earlier this month. The city saw more than triple its normal death rate for the month of May, according to research that an adviser to the local government shared with The New York Times.
Dwindling international aid will make the health care system weaker. It also threatens more basic programs that could help with the outbreak. Funding cuts could end water and sanitation services for 6 million people, including 3 million children, within days, said Muhammed of Oxfam, which runs hygiene and water programs, including in camps for the hundreds of thousands of Yemenis displaced by the war. Large parts of major cities may also soon lose access to water, he added.
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Despite shortages and tough odds, many Yemenis are trying to put up a strong fight against the virus. A number of graduates from an epidemiology training program supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are now in top posts in health policy, said Jumaan, who initiated the program in 2010. Hundreds of rapid-response teams developed with U.N. help to tackle cholera are attempting to trace COVID-19, Altaf Musani, the head of the WHO office in Yemen, told Science.
A health worker in Taez, Yemen, on June 21, 2020. AHMAD AL-BASHA via Getty Images
Jumaan is in frequent contact with medical staff across the country, particularly in laboratory settings, through WhatsApp groups she set up to coordinate sharing medical supplies and other aid.
“The camaraderie is much stronger now,” she said, describing discussions about how to improvise personal protective equipment and to share essential equipment across the lines of the conflict to prevent shortages.
“It’s been extremely heartwarming … even though these technical people are under different political powers, they don’t really give a damn,” Jumaan added.
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But in a situation as dangerous as Yemen’s predicament has become, even solidarity and specialized skills are not always enough.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-30--How To Properly Dry Your Hands To Stop The Spread Of The Coronavirus

Experts we spoke to recently said drying your hands is almost as important as washing them , and the method you use has an impact .
Are paper towels preferable in a public restroom ― or are air-dryers the way to go ?
Although some experts still debate this topic , more often than not , they say paper towel is king .
“ I ’ d say the best way to dry your hands is with a paper towel that you discard afterwards , ” said Sandra Kesh , a deputy medical director and infectious disease specialist at Westmed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Kesh explained that the goal of washing and drying is to remove as many viral particles as you can while also avoiding passing those germs on to any environmental surfaces nearby .
Air dryers blow moisture off your hands ― some high-speed models can feel more like a gale-force wind ― but it ’ s also possible the dryer will launch moisture with viral particles into the air .
“ With paper towels , you are capturing the viral particles in a confined location and removing them from the physical environment and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ garbage receptacle , ” Kesh said .
Research also suggests that paper towels are best ; one recent study showed that surfaces touched by people who had jet-dried were more likely to be contaminated than those touched by people who had used paper towels .
That ’ s not the only benefit to using paper towels in a public bathroom : You can also use a paper towel to safely grab the germy door handle and avoid coming into contact with the germs yourself , said Paul Pottinger , a professor of infectious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Medicine .
“ Otherwise , you might be immediately re-contaminating your hand when trying to get out of the lavatory , ” he said .
Of course , from an ecological perspective , air drying is generally a sounder choice .
The experts we spoke to noted that it ’ s important to weigh the environmental impact of our paper towel use .
Khubchandani added that we need to make sure to dispose of paper towels properly so sanitation workers won ’ t be exposed to germs .
( Remember all those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the streets at the beginning of the pandemic ? )
“ I appreciate all the research coming out , but this world needs a more holistic view of disease prevention than isolated tips and strategies where we only protect ourselves , ” he said .
“ We saw the case with gloves and masks ; people are protected , but what about those who pick them from the streets [ or bathrooms ] ?
” “ Washing properly is the most important thing we can do to protect ourselves from accidentally contaminating ourselves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said .
A good , diligent scrub means you ’ re washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds ― humming “ Happy Birthday ” from start to finish usually does the trick , Pottinger said ― and focusing on the entire hand , including the backs of the hands , between the fingers , the fingertips , and especially the thumbs .
“ When you look at washing versus drying , the way that we dry our hands is much less important , but there is still a better @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” he said .
Experts are still learning about the novel coronavirus .
The information in this story is what was known or available as of press time , but it ’ s possible guidance around COVID-19 could change as scientists discover more about the virus .
Please check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the most updated recommendations .

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The coronavirus pandemic has forced us to reevaluate a lot about our hygiene habits ― including how we dry our hands in public.
Experts we spoke to recently said drying your hands is almost as important as washing them, and the method you use has an impact.
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Are paper towels preferable in a public restroom ― or are air-dryers the way to go? Although some experts still debate this topic, more often than not, they say paper towel is king.
“I’d say the best way to dry your hands is with a paper towel that you discard afterwards,” said Sandra Kesh, a deputy medical director and infectious disease specialist at Westmed Medical Group in Westchester, New York.
Kesh explained that the goal of washing and drying is to remove as many viral particles as you can while also avoiding passing those germs on to any environmental surfaces nearby.
Air dryers blow moisture off your hands ― some high-speed models can feel more like a gale-force wind ― but it’s also possible the dryer will launch moisture with viral particles into the air.
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“With paper towels, you are capturing the viral particles in a confined location and removing them from the physical environment and then discarding them safely, in a garbage receptacle,” Kesh said.
Research also suggests that paper towels are best; one recent study showed that surfaces touched by people who had jet-dried were more likely to be contaminated than those touched by people who had used paper towels.
RealPeopleGroup via Getty Images Air dryers may not be the safest way to dry your hands during the coronavirus pandemic, health experts said.
That’s not the only benefit to using paper towels in a public bathroom: You can also use a paper towel to safely grab the germy door handle and avoid coming into contact with the germs yourself, said Paul Pottinger, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
“Otherwise, you might be immediately re-contaminating your hand when trying to get out of the lavatory,” he said.
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Of course, from an ecological perspective, air drying is generally a sounder choice. The experts we spoke to noted that it’s important to weigh the environmental impact of our paper towel use.
“We need to be conscious of paper towels and waste management,” said Jagdish Khubchandani, an associate chair and professor of health science at Ball State University.
Khubchandani added that we need to make sure to dispose of paper towels properly so sanitation workers won’t be exposed to germs. (Remember all those single-use gloves people were leaving out in the streets at the beginning of the pandemic?)
“I appreciate all the research coming out, but this world needs a more holistic view of disease prevention than isolated tips and strategies where we only protect ourselves,” he said. “We saw the case with gloves and masks; people are protected, but what about those who pick them from the streets [or bathrooms]?”
And while hand-drying is an essential part of hygiene practice, a good, thorough soap lathering is ultimately the most vital step, Pottinger said.
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“Washing properly is the most important thing we can do to protect ourselves from accidentally contaminating ourselves when we touch our face,” he said.
A good, diligent scrub means you’re washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds ― humming “Happy Birthday” from start to finish usually does the trick, Pottinger said ― and focusing on the entire hand, including the backs of the hands, between the fingers, the fingertips, and especially the thumbs.
“When you look at washing versus drying, the way that we dry our hands is much less important, but there is still a better way and a less good way,” he said.
Experts are still learning about the novel coronavirus. The information in this story is what was known or available as of press time, but it’s possible guidance around COVID-19 could change as scientists discover more about the virus. Please check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the most updated recommendations.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-30--Ex-Bush Aide Lays Blame For New Coronavirus Spike: ‘This Is Trump’s Plague Now’

The blame for the second spike of the coronavirus that the United States is currently enduring can be squarely laid on President Donald Trump , said an ex-speechwriter for former President George W. Bush .
“ The first coronavirus spike , in late April , can be blamed on President Donald Trump ’ s negligence .
The second spike , in June , is his own doing , ” David Frum argued Monday in a new column for The Atlantic , where he now works as a senior editor .
Frum noted how the earlier sacrifices made by people mandated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thrown away with the premature reopening of the country for the sake of economy , without the proper safety measures in place to combat the spread of the contagion .
What “ has happened in the U.S. in June , and what will happen in July , is entirely Trump ’ s fault , ” said Frum .
“ This time , though , reality will not be blustered away , ” he continued .
“ Tens of thousands are dead , and millions are out of work , all because Trump could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of disease control—a job that includes setting a positive example to those Americans who trust and follow his leadership.
” “ How lethal will this new peak be ?
We will learn that the way we seem to learn everything in this era of Trump : the hard way , ” Frum concluded .

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The blame for the second spike of the coronavirus that the United States is currently enduring can be squarely laid on President Donald Trump, said an ex-speechwriter for former President George W. Bush.
“The first coronavirus spike, in late April, can be blamed on President Donald Trump’s negligence. The second spike, in June, is his own doing,” David Frum argued Monday in a new column for The Atlantic, where he now works as a senior editor.
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“This is Trump’s plague now,” he added.
Frum noted how the earlier sacrifices made by people mandated to stay-at-home for weeks had now been thrown away with the premature reopening of the country for the sake of economy, without the proper safety measures in place to combat the spread of the contagion.
What “has happened in the U.S. in June, and what will happen in July, is entirely Trump’s fault,” said Frum.
“This time, though, reality will not be blustered away,” he continued. “Tens of thousands are dead, and millions are out of work, all because Trump could not and would not do the job of disease control—a job that includes setting a positive example to those Americans who trust and follow his leadership.”
“How lethal will this new peak be? We will learn that the way we seem to learn everything in this era of Trump: the hard way,” Frum concluded.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-29--COVID-19 Cases At California's San Quentin Prison Soar Past 1,000

California ’ s San Quentin State Prison , home to the state ’ s only death row , surpassed 1,000 active coronavirus cases on Monday in a disastrous outbreak that now encompasses about a third of the prison ’ s population .
According to data from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation ( CDCR ) , 978 of the 1,021 cases at the Marin County facility were confirmed in the past 14 days .
“ That is our deep area of focus and concern right now , ” Gov .
Gavin Newsom ( D ) said of the outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conference .
The roughly 3,500-inmate prison , the oldest in the state , reaches the milestone as California sees a statewide surge in cases that is forcing Newsom to close down businesses and activities in several counties that had reopened .
The situation at San Quentin , other state lawmakers say , is shameful .
“ Unrestrained COVID-19 infections at San Quentin State Prison is creating the worst prison health catastrophe in state history , ” Assemblymember Marc Levine , a Democrat who represents Marin County , said in a statement last Friday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prison officials to develop a plan to contain the disease spread .
“ The current rate of infections at San Quentin tells us that the worst is yet to come , ” he said at the time , when there were just 545 confirmed cases among San Quentin inmates .
Inmate advocates have linked the coronavirus outbreak at San Quentin and other prisons to the CDCR carelessly transferring inmates between prisons during the pandemic .
More broadly , activists have noted that the way most prisons manage their inmate populations makes the recommended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warned since the early days of the global coronavirus outbreak that prisons would quickly become hotbeds for infection if officials didn ’ t act quickly to put safety measures in place .
Marin County officials also announced Monday that test results showed a 71-year-old death row inmate at San Quentin had died of COVID-19 complications .
The inmate , Richard Stitely , was found dead in his cell last week .
He is the first known San Quentin inmate to die of COVID-19 .
Newsom said Monday that his office is evaluating the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in light of the outbreaks at San Quentin and other state prisons .
At his news conference , he said he hears the case that inmate advocates are making but is also worried many of those released inmates would be left homeless .
“ Do you make a bad situation worse by releasing someone who ’ s not ready to be released ?
” he asked .
The 3,500 inmates would be selected based on their medical vulnerabilities and time left in their sentences .

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California’s San Quentin State Prison, home to the state’s only death row, surpassed 1,000 active coronavirus cases on Monday in a disastrous outbreak that now encompasses about a third of the prison’s population.
According to data from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), 978 of the 1,021 cases at the Marin County facility were confirmed in the past 14 days.
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“That is our deep area of focus and concern right now,” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said of the outbreak at San Quentin during his Monday news conference.
The roughly 3,500-inmate prison, the oldest in the state, reaches the milestone as California sees a statewide surge in cases that is forcing Newsom to close down businesses and activities in several counties that had reopened. The situation at San Quentin, other state lawmakers say, is shameful.
“Unrestrained COVID-19 infections at San Quentin State Prison is creating the worst prison health catastrophe in state history,” Assemblymember Marc Levine, a Democrat who represents Marin County, said in a statement last Friday, adding he’s been pushing prison officials to develop a plan to contain the disease spread.
“The current rate of infections at San Quentin tells us that the worst is yet to come,” he said at the time, when there were just 545 confirmed cases among San Quentin inmates.
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Inmate advocates have linked the coronavirus outbreak at San Quentin and other prisons to the CDCR carelessly transferring inmates between prisons during the pandemic. More broadly, activists have noted that the way most prisons manage their inmate populations makes the recommended social distancing impossible. Health experts have warned since the early days of the global coronavirus outbreak that prisons would quickly become hotbeds for infection if officials didn’t act quickly to put safety measures in place.
The outbreak isn’t contained to inmates. About 90 San Quentin employees have also been infected, CDCR data shows.
Marin County officials also announced Monday that test results showed a 71-year-old death row inmate at San Quentin had died of COVID-19 complications. The inmate, Richard Stitely, was found dead in his cell last week. He is the first known San Quentin inmate to die of COVID-19.
Newsom said Monday that his office is evaluating the possible release of 3,500 inmates across California in light of the outbreaks at San Quentin and other state prisons. At his news conference, he said he hears the case that inmate advocates are making but is also worried many of those released inmates would be left homeless.
“Do you make a bad situation worse by releasing someone who’s not ready to be released?” he asked. The 3,500 inmates would be selected based on their medical vulnerabilities and time left in their sentences.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-29--Texas Megachurch Defends Having Choir Of Over 100 Sing In Front Of Mike Pence

First Baptist Dallas took several steps to try to curb the spread of the virus during the service , encouraging people to wear masks , conducting temperature checks , providing hand sanitizing liquid , and encouraging vulnerable populations to stay home .
But the church also had its choir sing ― despite the fact that indoor choir rehearsals and performances have been linked to outbreaks of COVID-19 .
The choir wore masks while sitting down between songs , according to CNN .
But during performances , members removed their masks and sang loudly and energetically while facing the audience .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ anthems of each branch of the military and several hymns .
The indoor service lasted for about one and a half hours .
Asked about the decision to feature live choral singing on Sunday , church spokeswoman Abigail Miller insisted that “ we have been very strategic and prudent in our approach.
” “ We have taken steps to ensure that no one who has knowingly been exposed to COVID-19 , demonstrated any symptoms , or tested positive has participated in our choir or orchestra for at least 14 days prior to our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Monday .
Over 2,000 people attended Sunday ’ s service , according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram .
While there were gaps between attendees in the first few rows , many other pews appear to be packed with congregants , according to video of the service .
Most attendees were wearing masks , the Star-Telegram reported , although they generally didn ’ t practice social distancing .
Studies have suggested that COVID-19 can spread through respiratory droplets in the air that can linger inside buildings .
High-powered vocalizations ― such as what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are particularly efficient in producing these tiny particles .
There have been several reports of the novel coronavirus spreading during singing events .
One super-spreader who attended a choir practice in Washington state in early March is suspected to have to spread the virus to 52 people , including three who were hospitalized and two who died .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report suggesting that transmission during the 2.5-hour choir practice was likely facilitated by the singers ’ close proximity and “ augmented by the act of singing.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ consider suspending or at least decreasing the use of a choir and having congregants sing during services .
The CDC asserted that “ The act of singing may contribute to transmission of Covid-19 , possibly through emission of aerosols.
” But late last month , the agency quietly removed that guidance from its website .
According to The Washington Post , the White House requested that change .

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A Dallas evangelical church is standing by its decision to have an over 100-person choir sing without masks during a Sunday service attended by Vice President Mike Pence.
The choir of First Baptist Dallas, a Southern Baptist megachurch led by President Donald Trump’s close evangelical ally Pastor Robert Jeffress, performed during “Celebrate Freedom Sunday,” a service attended by prominent politicians and hundreds of parishioners.
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First Baptist Dallas took several steps to try to curb the spread of the virus during the service, encouraging people to wear masks, conducting temperature checks, providing hand sanitizing liquid, and encouraging vulnerable populations to stay home.
But the church also had its choir sing ― despite the fact that indoor choir rehearsals and performances have been linked to outbreaks of COVID-19.
The choir of First Baptist Dallas performs at "Celebrate Freedom Sunday" on June 28, 2020. First Baptist Dallas / YouTube / Screenshot
The choir wore masks while sitting down between songs, according to CNN. But during performances, members removed their masks and sang loudly and energetically while facing the audience. They performed the national anthem, the anthems of each branch of the military and several hymns. The indoor service lasted for about one and a half hours.
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Asked about the decision to feature live choral singing on Sunday, church spokeswoman Abigail Miller insisted that “we have been very strategic and prudent in our approach.”
“We have taken steps to ensure that no one who has knowingly been exposed to COVID-19, demonstrated any symptoms, or tested positive has participated in our choir or orchestra for at least 14 days prior to our worship service,” Miller told HuffPost on Monday.
Miller also said that the church limited the capacity of the choir loft by 50%.
An attendee stands at First Baptist Church Dallas on June 28, 2020. AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez
Over 2,000 people attended Sunday’s service, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. While there were gaps between attendees in the first few rows, many other pews appear to be packed with congregants, according to video of the service. Most attendees were wearing masks, the Star-Telegram reported, although they generally didn’t practice social distancing.
Studies have suggested that COVID-19 can spread through respiratory droplets in the air that can linger inside buildings. High-powered vocalizations ― such as what happens during loud talking or singing ― are particularly efficient in producing these tiny particles.
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There have been several reports of the novel coronavirus spreading during singing events. One super-spreader who attended a choir practice in Washington state in early March is suspected to have to spread the virus to 52 people, including three who were hospitalized and two who died. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report suggesting that transmission during the 2.5-hour choir practice was likely facilitated by the singers’ close proximity and “augmented by the act of singing.”
Attendees wave flags at First Baptist Church Dallas on June 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Other choir-linked outbreaks are suspected to have occurred in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands.
The CDC initially recommended that churches consider suspending or at least decreasing the use of a choir and having congregants sing during services. The CDC asserted that “The act of singing may contribute to transmission of Covid-19, possibly through emission of aerosols.”
But late last month, the agency quietly removed that guidance from its website. According to The Washington Post, the White House requested that change.
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Vice President Mike Pence removes his mask to make comments at First Baptist Church Dallas. AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez
Pence wore a mask for most of Sunday’s service, removing it to speak to the congregants.
During an appearance at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center later on Sunday, Pence encouraged people living in areas affected by coronavirus outbreaks to wear masks.
“Where you can’t maintain social distancing, wearing a mask is just a good idea, especially young people,” Pence said.
Texas is backtracking on its reopening plans after the state experienced a surge in infection rates and hospitalizations due to COVID-19. The state had more than 6,000 new cases of the virus on June 27.
Dallas county is the second most impacted county in Texas, with close to 21,000 cases and over 350 deaths. Statewide, more than 2,400 people have died from COVID-19.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-29--Kansas City Mayor Called Racist Slur After Declaring Face Masks Mandatory

KANSAS CITY , Mo .
( AP ) — Kansas City ’ s Black mayor said Monday that he was called a racist slur and told he should “ swing from a tree ” after he announced mandatory face masks in the Missouri city .
Mayor Quinton Lucas on Twitter shared a screenshot of the texts , which came after he announced Friday that masks will be required in Kansas City when 6 feet ( 2 meters ) of separation isn ’ t feasible .
“ You walked with RIOTERS not wearing a mask idiot , ” a text read @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ You should swing from a tree , I ’ m not threatening it , but would love to see it.
” Lucas has joined in Kansas City protests sparked by the death of George Floyd and other Black people at the hands of police .
Floyd died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on Floyd ’ s neck for nearly eight minutes as the handcuffed man pleaded for air .
Lucas did not share the name or number of the person who allegedly sent the texts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obscene language describing the Black mayor .
In a tweet about the texts , Lucas wrote , “ let ’ s do better.
” Masks as of Monday are required in Kansas City .
The mandate will remain in place until at least July 12 .
It ’ s unclear if police are investigating the texts to the mayor as a threat .
An Associated Press request for comment to a Kansas City police spokesman wasn ’ t immediately returned Monday .

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City’s Black mayor said Monday that he was called a racist slur and told he should “swing from a tree” after he announced mandatory face masks in the Missouri city.
Mayor Quinton Lucas on Twitter shared a screenshot of the texts, which came after he announced Friday that masks will be required in Kansas City when 6 feet (2 meters) of separation isn’t feasible.
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“You walked with RIOTERS not wearing a mask idiot,” a text read, according to a screenshot Lucas shared. “You should swing from a tree, I’m not threatening it, but would love to see it.”
Lucas has joined in Kansas City protests sparked by the death of George Floyd and other Black people at the hands of police. Floyd died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes as the handcuffed man pleaded for air.
Lucas did not share the name or number of the person who allegedly sent the texts, which included a racist slur and obscene language describing the Black mayor.
In a tweet about the texts, Lucas wrote, “let’s do better.”
Masks as of Monday are required in Kansas City. The mandate will remain in place until at least July 12.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-29--Think You Won't Get Coronavirus Outside? Think Again.

Mask wearing has become woefully tied up in politics , but there is mounting research showing it ’ s one major way to help halt the spread of COVID-19 .
Even researchers who say that the current data is somewhat limited still say that wearing a mask is a good idea .
It passes from one person to the next through respiratory droplets that are not only released when a person coughs or sneezes , but also when they talk or breathe — which means you can not stay healthy simply by steering clear of people who seem obviously unwell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no clear consensus on how common asymptomatic spread is , estimates suggest anywhere between 40 % and 80 % of cases are mild or symptom-free . )
Many experts , including Prather , also now believe that COVID-19 can be transmitted via aerosols — basically , really tiny particles that can hang in the air for some time .
For that reason , Prather has been beating the “ wear masks ” drum for months now , and recently published a piece in the journal Science that argued for universal masking .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time , and now it seems to finally be catching on , is that when you have big drops from a cough or sneeze — or when people are talking , or singing , or breathing , you produce aerosols , and those don ’ t settle to the ground in 6 feet , ” Prather said .
Instead , aerosols can build up in the air and last there for hours .
The good news is that aerosols and other respiratory droplets are diluted much faster outdoors .
And most viruses can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrote in her paper .
But there are no guarantees — especially with a virus about which so little is known ― and she has called for more studies examining what , exactly , happens to the coronavirus outdoors .
“ We ’ ve come to a break in this outbreak where people have a sense of quarantine fatigue , or mask fatigue , and maybe even a sense of complacency where they ’ re thinking the cases are coming down , ” Jade Flinn , a nurse educator for the biocontainment unit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
( To be clear , they are not . )
But air flow may not matter all that much if you ’ re sitting next to several people for hours .
So use the space available to you , Flinn urged , and follow guidelines to keep at least 6 feet between you and others .
Think about building layers of safety : Being outdoors is a good start .
Being outdoors in a mask is even better .
Being outdoors , in a mask , away from others ?
Better still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of many states ’ reopening plans , but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasizes that it ’ s not risk-free .
Sure , you ’ re outdoors , but you ’ re sitting stationary with other people .
You ’ re not wearing a mask .
You ’ re coming into close contact with restaurant staff that may be taking precautions , but they ’ re still people whose exposure levels you don ’ t know about .
So really think about what you ’ re doing outdoors , and consider @ @ @ @ @ @ @ walk outside with your kids is different than taking your kids to a playground where they might come into close contact with other children .
Being outdoors at a relatively empty beach is different than being at a crowded one .
Experts also stress that the length of any given interaction with others influences risk .
In theory , you might get the virus from a person running or biking past you outdoors , but experts generally agree the risk there is pretty minimal .
If , however , you ’ re spending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — your risk is likely higher .
“ It ’ s all about how much is in the air , and how much you ’ re near that person , ” Prather said .
When she takes her daily walk , she acts as though any person she comes close to is smoking a cigarette and she tries to avoid their smoke .
( “ That ’ s the path I carve , ” Prather said . )
Of course , none of this is to say you shouldn ’ t do these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guidelines allow ) .
But do so with the understanding that being outside is not enough on its own to fully prevent COVID-19 from spreading .
By adding in physical distance and masks , you ’ re layering on even more protection .

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Months into the coronavirus pandemic, researchers are finally getting a better handle on how the virus spreads. Yes, it can be transmitted on surfaces, but the primary source of new infections is close, person-to-person contact.
And — in a bright spot for restless Americans hoping to enjoy the summer — there is also growing consensus among experts that being outdoors is less risky than being inside.
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“It is safer,” said Kimberly Prather, a professor of atmospheric chemistry with Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California who is an expert in aerosols. Prather told HuffPost that air and wind can quickly dilute the virus.
But they’re not magic.
So if you’re heading outdoors, here are some safety steps experts say you should still take.
Wear a mask.
Mask wearing has become woefully tied up in politics, but there is mounting research showing it’s one major way to help halt the spread of COVID-19. Even researchers who say that the current data is somewhat limited still say that wearing a mask is a good idea.
That’s because of how the virus spreads.
It passes from one person to the next through respiratory droplets that are not only released when a person coughs or sneezes, but also when they talk or breathe — which means you cannot stay healthy simply by steering clear of people who seem obviously unwell. (Also, while there is no clear consensus on how common asymptomatic spread is, estimates suggest anywhere between 40% and 80% of cases are mild or symptom-free.)
Many experts, including Prather, also now believe that COVID-19 can be transmitted via aerosols — basically, really tiny particles that can hang in the air for some time. For that reason, Prather has been beating the “wear masks” drum for months now, and recently published a piece in the journal Science that argued for universal masking.
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“What people have missed for a long time, and now it seems to finally be catching on, is that when you have big drops from a cough or sneeze — or when people are talking, or singing, or breathing, you produce aerosols, and those don’t settle to the ground in 6 feet,” Prather said. Instead, aerosols can build up in the air and last there for hours.
The good news is that aerosols and other respiratory droplets are diluted much faster outdoors. And most viruses can also be inactivated in sunlight, Prather wrote in her paper. But there are no guarantees — especially with a virus about which so little is known ― and she has called for more studies examining what, exactly, happens to the coronavirus outdoors.
That’s why, for now, she believes mask wearing is a really simple step people can take toward helping cut transmission.
“The masks are what work, and they work by blocking what is coming out of an infected person,” Prather said.
Maintain distance.
“We’ve come to a break in this outbreak where people have a sense of quarantine fatigue, or mask fatigue, and maybe even a sense of complacency where they’re thinking the cases are coming down,” Jade Flinn, a nurse educator for the biocontainment unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital, told HuffPost. (To be clear, they are not.)
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“I think many people are thinking the same way,” Flinn added, “and we’re all congregating and going to the same spots.”
But one reason why the outdoors helps limit transmission is simply that there is generally more space: “It’s easier for people to socially distance,” she said.
But air flow may not matter all that much if you’re sitting next to several people for hours. So use the space available to you, Flinn urged, and follow guidelines to keep at least 6 feet between you and others. Think about building layers of safety: Being outdoors is a good start. Being outdoors in a mask is even better. Being outdoors, in a mask, away from others? Better still.
What you’re doing outdoors matters.
Outdoor dining is a major part of many states’ reopening plans, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasizes that it’s not risk-free. Sure, you’re outdoors, but you’re sitting stationary with other people. You’re not wearing a mask. You’re coming into close contact with restaurant staff that may be taking precautions, but they’re still people whose exposure levels you don’t know about.
So really think about what you’re doing outdoors, and consider the level of risk. Taking a walk outside with your kids is different than taking your kids to a playground where they might come into close contact with other children. Being outdoors at a relatively empty beach is different than being at a crowded one.
Advertisement
Experts also stress that the length of any given interaction with others influences risk. In theory, you might get the virus from a person running or biking past you outdoors, but experts generally agree the risk there is pretty minimal. If, however, you’re spending hours next to someone — even outdoors — your risk is likely higher.
“It’s all about how much is in the air, and how much you’re near that person,” Prather said. When she takes her daily walk, she acts as though any person she comes close to is smoking a cigarette and she tries to avoid their smoke. (“That’s the path I carve,” Prather said.)
Of course, none of this is to say you shouldn’t do these activities (if current local and national guidelines allow). But do so with the understanding that being outside is not enough on its own to fully prevent COVID-19 from spreading. By adding in physical distance and masks, you’re layering on even more protection.
“Aerosols can go really far. They float. They can live in the air for hours,” Prather said. “They can live in the air for days.”
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Experts are still learning about the coronavirus. The information in this story is what was known or available as of press time, but it’s possible guidance around COVID-19 could change as scientists discover more about the virus. Please check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the most updated recommendations.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-29--Supreme Court Strikes Down Law That Would Reduce Abortion Access In Louisiana

“ Enforcing the admitting-privileges requirement would drastically reduce the number and geographic distribution of abortion providers , making it impossible for many women to obtain a safe , legal abortion in the State and imposing substantial obstacles on those who could , ” wrote Justice Stephen G. Breyer , who was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg , Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan .
“ The Louisiana law imposes a burden on access to abortion just as severe as that imposed by the Texas law , for the same reasons , ” he wrote .
“ Therefore Louisiana ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Roberts dissented in the Texas case , Whole Woman ’ s Health v. Hellerstedt , which was decided in 2016 .
He continues “ to believe that the case was wrongly decided , ” Roberts wrote .
But “ the question today however is not whether Whole Woman ’ s Health was right or wrong , but whether to adhere to it in deciding the present case.
” The ruling is a narrow win for abortion rights groups , which argue that the Louisiana law and others like it are not medically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , not protect women ’ s health .
In a statement , Nancy Northup , president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights , which represented the clinic challenging the Louisiana law , celebrated the victory but cautioned that the fight is far from over .
“ We ’ re relieved that the Louisiana law has been blocked today but we ’ re concerned about tomorrow , ” Northup said .
“ With this win , the clinics in Louisiana can stay open to serve the one million women of reproductive age @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s decision could embolden states to pass even more restrictive laws when clarity is needed if abortion rights are to be protected.
” Mary Ziegler , a professor at Florida State University and historian of abortion law , said that it would be a mistake to read Monday ’ s opinion and think that abortion rights are significantly safer today than they were yesterday .
“ I think it is pretty clear that Roberts is willing to uphold restrictions if they are presented with the right kind of case , particularly a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ face when it comes to respect for precedent , ” Ziegler said .
“ I think the single biggest takeaway for abortion opponents is that appearances matter to John Roberts .
Even if he is not a believer in abortion rights , he is a believer in optics and in institutional legitimacy.
” Opponents of the Louisiana law , which was enacted in 2014 , said that restricting which doctors may perform abortions is not only medically unnecessary , it puts an undue burden on women ’ s right to access the procedure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obtain hospital admitting privileges , doctors have explained , because of the excessive paperwork required and because of resistance from hospitals that don ’ t want to appear as though they ’ re taking sides on the issue .
Some hospitals also set up impossible-to-meet benchmarks for granting the admitting privileges , such as doctors having to admit a minimum number of patients each year in order to keep the privileges .
A 2018 study by the National Academies of Sciences , Engineering and Medicine found that 95 % of women who have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clinics or offices , and that such facilities were perfectly equipped to handle such a procedure .
Dr. Bhavik Kumar , a family medicine physician in Texas and the medical director for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast , which operates two clinics in Louisiana , told HuffPost last year that forcing women to leave the state for an abortion would only increase the risk of complications .
“ We know from rigorous studies that barriers to access abortion care in a timely manner create harm , rather than actually increasing the safety profile , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ When laws that are masked as promoting the health and safety of our patients are actually harming them , that ’ s when I think a lot of us become concerned.
” Several states have sought to pass anti-abortion laws during the Trump era .
Like many of those measures , the Louisiana one was justified as based on concerns for the health of women rather than moral objections to abortions .
But the effect is to further the goals of those opposing abortion rights , said Michelle Erenberg , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organization focused on women ’ s health in that state .
“ I think it was actually a pretty clever move on their part , ” she told HuffPost last year of those who pushed for the law .
“ It ’ s easier for people to see these regulations as reasonable and not as just an effort to prohibit abortion or shut down abortion clinics , even though we all know that that is their impact .
”

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The Supreme Court delivered a blow to the anti-abortion movement on Monday, striking down a Louisiana law that could have left only one abortion provider in the state.
The court ruled 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts siding with the court’s liberal justices. The case was the court’s first major abortion case since President Donald Trump appointed two conservative justices, shifting the court to the right.
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June Medical Services v. Russo concerned a Louisiana law that required doctors providing abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.
The court struck down a virtually identical Texas law in 2016.
“Enforcing the admitting-privileges requirement would drastically reduce the number and geographic distribution of abortion providers, making it impossible for many women to obtain a safe, legal abortion in the State and imposing substantial obstacles on those who could,” wrote Justice Stephen G. Breyer, who was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
The chief justice, who wrote a concurring opinion separately from his four more liberal colleagues, said he joined the majority in June Medical out of respect for precedent.
“The Louisiana law imposes a burden on access to abortion just as severe as that imposed by the Texas law, for the same reasons,” he wrote. “Therefore Louisiana’s law cannot stand under our precedents.” Roberts dissented in the Texas case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, which was decided in 2016.
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He continues “to believe that the case was wrongly decided,” Roberts wrote. But “the question today however is not whether Whole Woman’s Health was right or wrong, but whether to adhere to it in deciding the present case.”
The ruling is a narrow win for abortion rights groups, which argue that the Louisiana law and others like it are not medically necessary and are intended to close clinics, not protect women’s health.
In a statement, Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represented the clinic challenging the Louisiana law, celebrated the victory but cautioned that the fight is far from over.
“We’re relieved that the Louisiana law has been blocked today but we’re concerned about tomorrow,” Northup said. “With this win, the clinics in Louisiana can stay open to serve the one million women of reproductive age in the state. But the Court’s decision could embolden states to pass even more restrictive laws when clarity is needed if abortion rights are to be protected.”
Mary Ziegler, a professor at Florida State University and historian of abortion law, said that it would be a mistake to read Monday’s opinion and think that abortion rights are significantly safer today than they were yesterday.
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“I think it is pretty clear that Roberts is willing to uphold restrictions if they are presented with the right kind of case, particularly a case that will allow him to save face when it comes to respect for precedent,” Ziegler said. “I think the single biggest takeaway for abortion opponents is that appearances matter to John Roberts. Even if he is not a believer in abortion rights, he is a believer in optics and in institutional legitimacy.”
Opponents of the Louisiana law, which was enacted in 2014, said that restricting which doctors may perform abortions is not only medically unnecessary, it puts an undue burden on women’s right to access the procedure.
Many abortion providers cannot easily obtain hospital admitting privileges, doctors have explained, because of the excessive paperwork required and because of resistance from hospitals that don’t want to appear as though they’re taking sides on the issue. Some hospitals also set up impossible-to-meet benchmarks for granting the admitting privileges, such as doctors having to admit a minimum number of patients each year in order to keep the privileges.
A 2018 study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found that 95% of women who have abortions in the U.S. receive them in clinics or offices, and that such facilities were perfectly equipped to handle such a procedure.
The law’s supporters relied on arguments that abortion is a dangerous, high-risk procedure, even though the procedure has a lower rate of hospitalizations than a wisdom tooth removal.
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Dr. Bhavik Kumar, a family medicine physician in Texas and the medical director for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, which operates two clinics in Louisiana, told HuffPost last year that forcing women to leave the state for an abortion would only increase the risk of complications.
“We know from rigorous studies that barriers to access abortion care in a timely manner create harm, rather than actually increasing the safety profile,” Kumar said of the Louisiana law. “When laws that are masked as promoting the health and safety of our patients are actually harming them, that’s when I think a lot of us become concerned.”
Several states have sought to pass anti-abortion laws during the Trump era. Like many of those measures, the Louisiana one was justified as based on concerns for the health of women rather than moral objections to abortions. But the effect is to further the goals of those opposing abortion rights, said Michelle Erenberg, the executive director of Lift Louisiana, an organization focused on women’s health in that state.
“I think it was actually a pretty clever move on their part,” she told HuffPost last year of those who pushed for the law. “It’s easier for people to see these regulations as reasonable and not as just an effort to prohibit abortion or shut down abortion clinics, even though we all know that that is their impact.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-29--Coronavirus Live Updates: Read The Latest About The COVID-19 Outbreak

Those who violate the ban can face fines up to $ 1,000 .
Oregon Gov .
Kate Brown said that she ’ s requiring everyone in the state to wear protective face masks when inside public spaces .
“ Over the last month , COVID-19 spread at an alarming rate in both urban and rural counties , ” she tweeted .
“ That ’ s why I ’ m requiring face coverings in indoor public places in ALL counties , effective 7/1 .
We can & must reduce the spread of this disease.
” A recent surge in cases in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases there to over 8,000 .
Broadway Cancels Fall Performances As National Rate Of COVID-19 Cases Continues To Rise — 6/29/20 , 11:30 a.m .
ET The trade association for Broadway announced that it ’ s canceling all performances for the remainder of 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic .
Refunds and exchanges will be offered for tickets that had already been issued through Jan. 3 , 2021 .
Performances are scheduled to proceed next winter and spring .
In the meantime , the Broadway League said it ’ s working with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theaters , including backstage .
“ The Broadway experience can be deeply personal but it is also , crucially , communal , ” said Broadway League board chair Thomas Schumacher in a release .
“ The safety of our cast , crew , orchestra and audience is our highest priority and we look forward to returning to our stages only when it ’ s safe to do so , ” he continued .
“ One thing is for sure , when we return we will be stronger and more needed than ever.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Opening Indoor Dining — 6/29/20 , 11:15 a.m .
ET New York City will reassess whether to include indoor dining in its next phase of reopening , as COVID-19 cases are on the rise in other parts of the U.S. , with many of the new outbreaks tied to restaurants and bars .
“ We are now going to reexamine the indoor dining rules for Phase 3 , ” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at his daily press briefing Monday , adding that he was “ increasingly concerned ” about the new outbreaks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new guidelines in the next few days .
“ The rest of Phase 3 is moving on pace for next Monday , July 6 , but the indoor dining element is now in question.
” Once the epicenter of the pandemic , the city is now one of the few regions of the country where cases have dramatically declined .
Earlier this month , it began a phased reopening .
Under New York state ’ s reopening guidelines , Phase 2 , which began last Monday , included outdoor dining .
The guidelines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ next Monday , had included indoor dining if restaurants could place tables at least 6 feet apart .
Many states where the pandemic continues to worsen initially had lax restrictions and quickly reopened , especially Arizona , Texas and Florida , which now face a skyrocketing rate of new infections .
Public health experts attribute many of these new outbreaks to the lack of mask wearing and social distancing in restaurants and bars .
More Than 500,000 People Have Died Of The Coronavirus Worldwide — 6/29/2020 , 7:00 a.m .
ET At least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus , Johns Hopkins University reported Sunday night .
Over the weekend , worldwide infections passed the 10 million mark .
The grim milestone comes as infections surge in the U.S. , prompting governors to rein in opening plans .
The U.S. now has had more cases and deaths than any other nation .
But cases are also surging rapidly in Russia and Brazil .
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ( D-Calif. ) called for a federal mask-wearing mandate to curb the spread of the coronavirus amid a surge of infections across some parts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s time for this administration to take this seriously , ” Pelosi said in an interview with ABC News ’ “ This Week.
” She added : “ We are 4 % of the world ’ s population ; we are 25 % of the cases and the deaths .
... We have the worst record any country in the world , and the president says we ’ re making progress.
” Asked if it ’ s time to mandate mask wearing nationwide , Pelosi said , “ definitely , long overdue for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CDC ] has recommended the use of masks but not ... required it because they don ’ t want to offend the president .
The president should be [ an ] example .
You know , real men wear masks .
Be an example to the country .
”

Those who violate the ban can face fines up to $1,000.
— Nick Visser
Oregon Requiring Masks Indoors Statewide — 6/29/20, 5:45 p.m. ET
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said that she’s requiring everyone in the state to wear protective face masks when inside public spaces.
“Over the last month, COVID-19 spread at an alarming rate in both urban and rural counties,” she tweeted. “That’s why I’m requiring face coverings in indoor public places in ALL counties, effective 7/1. We can & must reduce the spread of this disease.”
A recent surge in cases in Oregon has pushed the total number of cases there to over 8,000.
— Lydia O’Connor
Broadway Cancels Fall Performances As National Rate Of COVID-19 Cases Continues To Rise — 6/29/20, 11:30 a.m. ET
The trade association for Broadway announced that it’s canceling all performances for the remainder of 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Refunds and exchanges will be offered for tickets that had already been issued through Jan. 3, 2021. Performances are scheduled to proceed next winter and spring.
In the meantime, the Broadway League said it’s working with experts to implement critical safety protocols in theaters, including backstage.
“The Broadway experience can be deeply personal but it is also, crucially, communal,” said Broadway League board chair Thomas Schumacher in a release.
“The safety of our cast, crew, orchestra and audience is our highest priority and we look forward to returning to our stages only when it’s safe to do so,” he continued. “One thing is for sure, when we return we will be stronger and more needed than ever.”
— Ryan Grenoble
New York City To ‘Reexamine’ Opening Indoor Dining — 6/29/20, 11:15 a.m. ET
New York City will reassess whether to include indoor dining in its next phase of reopening, as COVID-19 cases are on the rise in other parts of the U.S., with many of the new outbreaks tied to restaurants and bars.
“We are now going to reexamine the indoor dining rules for Phase 3,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at his daily press briefing Monday, adding that he was “increasingly concerned” about the new outbreaks across the country, and will announce new guidelines in the next few days. “The rest of Phase 3 is moving on pace for next Monday, July 6, but the indoor dining element is now in question.”
Once the epicenter of the pandemic, the city is now one of the few regions of the country where cases have dramatically declined. Earlier this month, it began a phased reopening. Under New York state’s reopening guidelines, Phase 2, which began last Monday, included outdoor dining. The guidelines for Phase 3, slated to begin next Monday, had included indoor dining if restaurants could place tables at least 6 feet apart.
Many states where the pandemic continues to worsen initially had lax restrictions and quickly reopened, especially Arizona, Texas and Florida, which now face a skyrocketing rate of new infections. Public health experts attribute many of these new outbreaks to the lack of mask wearing and social distancing in restaurants and bars.
— Marina Fang
More Than 500,000 People Have Died Of The Coronavirus Worldwide — 6/29/2020, 7:00 a.m. ET
At least 500,000 people worldwide have died of the coronavirus, Johns Hopkins University reported Sunday night. Over the weekend, worldwide infections passed the 10 million mark. The grim milestone comes as infections surge in the U.S., prompting governors to rein in opening plans.
The U.S. now has had more cases and deaths than any other nation. But cases are also surging rapidly in Russia and Brazil.
— Nick Visser
Pelosi Calls For National Mask Mandate ― 6/28/20, 2:50 p.m. ET
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called for a federal mask-wearing mandate to curb the spread of the coronavirus amid a surge of infections across some parts of the country.
“It’s time for this administration to take this seriously,” Pelosi said in an interview with ABC News’ “This Week.”
She added: “We are 4% of the world’s population; we are 25% of the cases and the deaths. ... We have the worst record any country in the world, and the president says we’re making progress.”
Asked if it’s time to mandate mask wearing nationwide, Pelosi said, “definitely, long overdue for that. My understanding that the [CDC] has recommended the use of masks but not ... required it because they don’t want to offend the president. The president should be [an] example. You know, real men wear masks. Be an example to the country.”