Coronavirus Briefing: What Occurred At the moment

America is waiting, but the virus isn’t

While Americans are overwhelmed by the results of the razor-sharp presidential election, the country’s coronavirus situation has turned catastrophically – and continues to deteriorate.

Less than 24 hours after the US broke its daily national case record, there were 121,500 more cases – more than Japan, Egypt or Hungary during the entire pandemic. 28 states added more cases in the past week than any other period.

A more alarming moment since the beginning of April, when 2,000 people died every day, is hard to imagine, and there are few signs that the situation will improve in the near future. The country has recorded well over 1,000 deaths every day since Election Day, and trouble spot infection rates are increasing. Governors across the country continue to ask Americans every day to take the virus seriously.

“Colorado, I love you. This is an intervention, ”said Colorado Governor Jared Polis. The state recorded more than 3,800 cases yesterday, around 900 more than before, and hospital stays have soared to their highest level since the pandemic began.

“Cancel your social plans in the next few weeks – avoid interacting with others. Wear a mask. Keep your distance, ”said Mr. Polis.

Hospitals in badly affected areas of the country are quickly reaching their limits. At Trinity Health in Minot, ND, beds were no longer available for coronavirus patients on the entire floor. Dr. Jeffrey Sather, the chief of staff, called other major hospitals across the state to see if he could refer some patients, but each facility was also full. Dr. Sather was also worried about his employees.

“You see people choke on a regular basis,” he said. “And it’s a heavy psychological burden.”

The consequences of a motorcycle rally

Infectious disease experts had warned of the risk of holding the annual Sturgis motorcycle rally in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Even so, the Republican governor of South Dakota, a vocal opponent of lockdowns, gave her blessing, and local leaders put their concerns aside as thousands of people from every state in the nation rolled down the main street of Sturgis.

As the rally ended, the crowds poured home like a giant exhale, and cases spread to more than 20 states. Infections related to the rally spread as far as New Hampshire, and cases rose in Dakotas, Wyoming and Nebraska, where thousands of residents had returned from Sturgis.

The rally has become “a rumbling symbol of America’s bitter divisions over the coronavirus,” wrote our colleagues Mark Walker and Jack Healy. Family members who stayed away are angry at relatives who visited and brought home the virus. Sturgis council members who approved the rally were bombarded with death threats. And health experts and politicians are still arguing about how many cases Sturgis could have caused across the country.

Even now, health officials said a lack of contact tracing and the sheer scale of the event made it impossible to know how many people were directly or indirectly infected because of Sturgis.

Children produce weaker antibodies

A study published on Thursday found that children infected with the coronavirus produce fewer and weaker antibodies than adults.

While this statement sounds scary, it can actually help answer longstanding questions about why children have a different experience with the virus than adults.

“We know that children are much less likely to get the coronavirus,” said Apoorva Mandavilli, who reported on the study. “This study says they produce a less robust immune response to the virus, which paradoxically can be a good thing.”

Fewer antibodies can indicate that children have been sick for a shorter period of time and can also explain why children appear to be less efficient at transmitting the virus. A weak immune response can also provide information about why children are usually spared severe symptoms.

It is important to note that weaker and fewer antibodies do not mean that children are at higher risk of re-infection.

Resurgences

• Italy six regions in the deeply infected north of the country and in the endangered and poorer south of the country blocked. The measures are the most drastic since a nationwide lockdown in March.

• Eastern Europe is facing increases in some cases. Romania announced plans to close schools and introduce an overnight curfew. Poland admitted the first patient to his new field hospital in a stadium in Warsaw. Hungary declared a “state of danger” this week and Ukraine announced a national mask mandate in public buildings and public transport.

• Paris Ban on delivery and takeaway food and alcohol between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. as officials try to contain large numbers of people on the streets at night despite being locked, reports France 24.

Here is a summary of the restrictions in all 50 states.

What else are we pursuing

• Scientists in the UK have started a clinical trial of aspirin to see if the anti-inflammatory agent can improve care for patients hospitalized with Covid-19 by reducing the formation of life-threatening blood clots.

• Wuhan, where the outbreak began, has become a star in China. Propaganda agencies have paid television tributes to the city, and a new opera is idolizing their doctors.

• The Faculty of Notre Dame University turned down a proposed vote of no confidence in its President, Rev. John I. Jenkins, and instead voted to “express its disappointment” that he was at a reception at the White House amid a pandemic without a protective mask.

• In England, the early hours of Lockdown 2.0, as local newspapers called it, didn’t look like Lockdown at all.

• The Las Vegas Raiders have been fined for repeatedly violating the NFL’s virus protocols.

What you are doing

After being married 8 years ago a year ago, my husband and I decided to divorce. We began to take turns living in our house. One of us would stay with our daughter; the other would go into a small rented apartment. When France was banned in March, we decided to restrict everyone together the House. Then, for 3 months, we found out that we still enjoyed each other’s company as well as our family life and that we could work as a team like we had never done before. It became apparent that we were still in love, so we got back together. The lockdown gave us perspective and time to slow down and reconsider our relationship.

– MariaRosa Quintero Bernabeu, Grenoble, France

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