The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released guidelines for opening schools that endorsed physical attendance — aligning the agency more closely with President Donald Trump’s views on the subject, even as the world’s largest economy struggles to contain surging COVID-19 cases.
Concerns about reopening are widespread. Schools have become a central focus as fall approaches, with districts across the country scrambling to find — and fund— appropriate plans. However, no consensus has been reached, and Trump himself softened his position on Thursday by saying hot zones should delay reopening plans.
“This guidance is intended to aid school administrators as they consider how to protect the health, safety, and wellbeing of students, teachers, other school staff, their families, and communities and prepare for educating students this fall,” the agency wrote, outlining a lengthy list of mitigation strategies to prevent more spreading.
The CDC’s recommendations comes as the nation remains deeply divided on how to reopen schools safely, and in the wake of the president’s criticism of the agency’s earlier guidance. Polls show that many parents remain nervous about sending their children back into schoolhouses, even as many criticize the remote learning process and at least one panel of experts has urged a full reopening.
With less than 2 months to go until the academic year begins, the U.S.’s confirmed infection numbers continue to climb, once again topping 70,000 per day amid a global count of nearly 16 million. This week, America topped 4 million total cases, led by surges in the Sun Belt.
Among the largest states, California and Florida remain a concern. The Sunshine State recorded more than 12,000 cases with a positivity rate of more than 16%, while hospitalizations hit a new record on Friday. Deaths in Florida are starting to climb again after a brief pause, following the trend of lagging a rise in cases by a few weeks.
The relentless spread has forced the president to publicly acknowledge certain realities associated with social distancing — which this week led for him to back face coverings in public. On Thursday, Trump also announced the GOP was moving the Republican National Convention from Jacksonville, Florida back to North Carolina, as well as shifting to more virtual segments for the convention — something some observers said was ironic given his position on opening schools.
In his briefing, Trump called for the reopening of the economy, but also said a full nominating convention was “not the right time. I have to protect the American people.”
Drug pricing
Despite what appeared to be a reprieve on the drug pricing debate, which had been moving through Congress prior to the coronavirus outbreak, Trump is reportedly signing an executive order Friday to address the issue.
The timing caught drug companies and lobbying groups off guard, as they had been enjoying the spotlight for their efforts to battle the coronavirus— whether through diagnostics, treatments or a vaccine search.
Trade groups representing the industry are awaiting the final language of the order before publicly commenting, they’ve said in response to requests from Yahoo Finance.
Anjalee Khemlani is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @AnjKhem
A Black lives Matter mural that was painted on 5th Avenue is seen directly in front of Trump Tower. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
A conservative women’s group sued Mayor de Blasio and the city Department of Transportation for allowing a Black Lives Matter mural to be painted in front of Trump Tower — but blocking them from doing a similar mural.
In the suit filed Thursday night in Manhattan federal court, Women for America First said they sent a letter to the mayor requesting permission to paint a mural of their slogan — “Engaging, Inspiring and Empowering Women to Make a Difference!” — on a roadway in Manhattan.
They said they never heard back from the mayor about their request.
The nonprofit, which is based in Virginia, said in their suit that they were led to believe that “there is no ‘application process’ for painting political messages, murals or other non-traffic-related messages on New York City streets.”
They said, however, that they later read in an article in the Post that a City Hall spokesperson claimed the city actually did have a process for painting murals on city streets, but they do not know what that process is.
They added that de Blasio allowed for the mural to be painted in front of Trump Tower strictly as a political gesture, and he may use it if he campaigns for national office again.
“Defendant de Blasio ran in the Democratic primary for President in 2020 and, on information and belief, has political ambitions to run for national or other elected office as a Democrat after the end of his final term as Mayor of New York City or to be appointed to a prominent position in an anticipated Biden Administration,” the suit states.
“On information and belief, de Blasio’s conduct as alleged herein is intended as a political gesture to the BLM movement and those sympathetic to it which has been done in order to enhance his future prospects as a Democratic candidate for office or appointee and by rallying BLM support for Democrats, including in the 2020 Presidential election,” they added.
The group claims Hizzoner and the DOT are infringing on their First Amendment rights by not allowing them to paint a mural.
Mayor Bill de BlasioJames Messerschmidt
They’re asking a judge grant them a permit to do the mural and for attorneys fees to be repaid.
A retired New York judge blasted de Blasio’s decision to place the mural in front of Trump Tower, calling it a political statement and a dereliction of his duties as mayor.
“The city’s position – as least as far as I understand it – is insane,” David Saxe, a retired Appellate Division First Department judge said.
“It’s a political statement and why shouldn’t everyone else be entitled to do the same thing,” he added. “It doesn’t strike me that function of a mayor is to start writing slogans on public streets that express political feelings. It shows a dereliction of responsibility at the very top in terms of the management of our city.”
A City Hall spokesperson did not immediately respond.
Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci (L) speaks as Response coordinator for White House Coronavirus Task Force Deborah Birx looks on during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday that he and his family are receiving hate mail and “serious threats” from people angry over his advice on the pandemic.
“There are people who get really angry at thinking I’m interfering with their life because I’m pushing a public health agenda,” he said during a podcast interview with CNN commentator David Axelrod. “The kind of not only hate mail but actual serious threats against me are not good.”
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and his family have been assigned a security detail after threats were made against his wife and daughters.
“I mean, really? Is this the United States of America? But it’s real. It really is real,” he said.
Fauci revealed that he has previously been targeted for his work on finding treatments for HIV/AIDS. However, he said, “it’s really a magnitude different now because [of] the amount of anger.”
“I’ve seen a side of society that I guess is understandable, but it’s a little bit disturbing,” he added.
Fauci has become one of the most trusted and recognizable infectious disease experts in the nation. Known for his candid advice, Fauci has often opposed President Donald Trump in recommending school closures, state lockdowns and the use of face masks in public areas where social distancing isn’t possible. He was also a key advisor to the White House in recommending the closure of businesses early on in the outbreak in the U.S.
He told Axelrod that the attacks are a reflection of the “divisiveness of our society at [the] political level.” He asserted that the coronavirus pandemic is a public health issue that should not be politicized.
In the past, President Donald Trump and other White House officials have criticized Fauci’s advice on Covid-19. During an interview earlier this month with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Trump said “Dr. Fauci’s a nice man, but he’s made a lot of mistakes.”
“They’ve been wrong about a lot of things, including face masks,” Trump said. “Maybe they’re wrong, maybe not. A lot of them said don’t wear a mask, don’t wear a mask. Now they’re saying wear a mask. A lot of mistakes were made, a lot of mistakes.”
Fauci, who is a key member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, was also not invited to Trump’s press conferences on the pandemic this week.
“What we are talking about are fundamental principles of public health, and I don’t see how people can have animosity to that,” he said. “The hostility against public health issues is difficult to not only understand but difficult to even process.”
Fauci said he understands the negative economic consequences of shutting down the country for a prolonged period of time. He and other health officials are working on reopening America safely “in a measured fashion,” he said.
Seattle‘s police officers will now respond to protests and rioting through “adjusted deployment” methods because of a new city law that bans them from using some crowd-control tools, the city’s police chief said Friday.
The new law, which takes effect Sunday, “bans Seattle Police officers the use of less lethal tools, including pepper spray that is commonly used to disperse crowds that have turned violent,” police Chief Carmen Best said in a statement.
“Simply put,” Best added, “the legislation gives officers NO ability to safely intercede to preserve property in the midst of a large, violent crowd.”
City Council Ordinance 119805, issued by the City Council earlier this week, bans tear gas, blast balls and other anti-protest gear used to disperse crowds and protect officers when crowds turn violent.
U.S. District Judge James Robart ruled Wednesday that the City Council’s plan could proceed — despite an attempt by Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Best to stop the plan.
The mayor and the police chief submitted a motion arguing that the new law would conflict with an eight-year-old settlement on a policing-overhaul agreement struck between the Seattle Police Department and the U.S. Justice Department.
Seattle police Chief Carmen Best talks with activists in an undated photo. (Associated Press)
The police overhaul was prompted by Justice Department findings pointing to patterns of biased policing and excessive use of force by Seattle officers. Durkan and Best had argued to Robart that the new city law might interfere with terms of the accord struck with the Justice Department.
“It is important to bring to your attention that yesterday, I sent the City Council a letter ensuring them that as the Chief of Police, I have done my due diligence of informing them numerous times of the foreseeable impact of this ordinance on upcoming events,” Best said Friday.
“For these reasons,” she continued, “Seattle Police will have an adjusted deployment in response to any demonstrations this weekend – as I will never ask our officers to risk their personal safety to protect property without the tools to do so in a safe way.”
Best’s announcement came less than a week after body-camera footage showed rioters throwing objects at Seattle officers last Sunday, resulting in injuries to 12 officers.
Fox News’ Dom Calicchio contributed to this report.
Los Angeles County reported one of its lowest recent daily totals of new coronavirus cases Friday, but attributed the dip to delays in tests results from the state, indicating higher numbers will likely result in coming days as the backlog clears.
The county reported 1,949 new cases, down from daily reports over the past week that have added 2,000 or more cases to the total. The city of Long Beach announced 143 new cases Friday, while Pasadena added 35. The new cases lifted the countywide total from throughout the pandemic to 168,935.
The county Department of Public Health also reported another 44 deaths due to COVID-19, although one of those fatalities was reported Thursday by Pasadena. Pasadena and Long Beach have their own health departments.
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Local news from across Southern California
The new deaths raised the countywide total to 4,300.
Also dipping in Friday’s statistics was the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in area hospitals, at 1,928. County officials said there were total of 2,470 confirmed and suspected cases in hospitals, but stressed that both figures are incomplete due to “changes in reporting requirements from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.”
Hospitalizations have been an area of concern in recent weeks, with the number topping 2,200 in Los Angeles County for the past five days, the highest levels of the pandemic. The total does not include hospitalizations in Long Beach and Pasadena.
Health officials have noted this week that the number of new hospitalizations in L.A. County appeared to be leveling off, and possibly even decreasing, following a precipitous climb in mid-July.
The county’s health officer, Dr. Muntu Davis, told reporters Thursday that those figures — along with the seven-day average daily testing positivity rate settling back to about 8.5% — were indications the county may be starting to slow the virus.
“I hope this week marks a turning point, and that we’ll start to see the results of our collective actions to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Davis said.
But despite those positive indicators, Davis and public health director Barbara Ferrer stressed that the area is a long way from conquering the virus and being able to lift health restrictions.
“Even with incomplete case and hospitalization data, we are seeing too much community spread of this virus, which means many of our friends, family and neighbors are sick and suffering,” Ferrer said in a statement Friday. “As we head into the weekend, I hope we each understand that continuing our recovery journey, including reopening schools and businesses, is only possible if we get back to slowing the spread. Wear a face covering, don’t gather with people you don’t live with and stay home as much as possible. The health of our community truly is a collective effort.”
Two Los Angeles-area hospitals got some additional staffing help Friday courtesy of the U.S. Air Force, which deployed medical teams across the state, including one at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center and another at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, California Health and Human Services secretary, said a total of eight teams were deployed across the state.
“We looked across the state,” Ghaly said. “L.A. County — with big hospitals, important centers where we see disease transmission high, concern to make sure the hospitals in that important center are supported — received two out of eight of the teams. Sort of a proportionate share, if you will, across the state. But remember some of the other teams went to the northern parts, even rural parts of the state, to make sure that the hospitals are supported.
“We’ll continue to work with our federal partners to ensure that that staff can be moved to strategic places throughout the state when necessary,” he said.
Ghaly said the goal is to ensure “patients get the level of care that they need and that staffing doesn’t become the issue around delivering high-quality care around the state.”
The Copper River Seafoods plant on East First Avenue in Anchorage on Friday. (Anchorage Daily News photo)
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Fifty-six workers at the Copper River Seafoods processing plant in Anchorage have tested positive for COVID-19, the Anchorage Health Department said in a statement Friday night, marking the latest outbreak within Alaska’s seafood industry.
Nearly all of the employees at the plant, which employs 134 workers, live in the Municipality of Anchorage, the health department said. Another 30 test results have not yet been returned and 14 workers were not tested, according to the department. Testing was conducted from July 17 to 22.
The Anchorage Health Department and state Department of Health and Social Services’ Section of Epidemiology are working to conduct contact tracing. The two agencies are coordinating with Copper River Seafoods “to control this outbreak as quickly as possible and prevent further spread of the disease among co-workers, family members and the community,” the Anchorage Health Department said.
“This is a concerning situation for the people of Anchorage,” said Dr. Bruce Chandler, disease control and prevention medical officer with the city health department. “With so many workers now testing positive, it is likely that this outbreak has been in progress for some time and that transmission has already occurred among family, friends and others in the community.”
Those who tested positive were told to follow protocols for isolation established by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the city health department said. Employees with negative test results will stay in quarantine and undergo testing every three days until no more cases are identified. Health officials have instructed them and household members of those who test positive — all considered close contacts — to follow guidelines for quarantine and self-monitoring from the CDC, according to the city health department.
Copper River Seafoods closed the plant for disinfection and deep cleaning after the first case was confirmed, the health department said.
The Copper River Seafoods plant on East First Avenue in Anchorage on Friday. (Anchorage Daily News photo)
The Copper River Seafoods virus cases mark the third-largest outbreak in the state: An OBI Seafoods processing plant in Seward saw 98 cases among workers, and the factory trawler American Triumph identified 85 cases among crew after docking at Dutch Harbor. The fourth-largest outbreak involves 40 cases among workers at the Alaska Glacier Seafoods plant in Juneau.
This week, the state epidemiologist described a change in the makeup of seafood industry workers testing positive for COVID-19. Virus cases within the industry now increasingly involve local residents working at processing plants — individuals going back and forth from the community at large to closed campuses, increasing the risk of the virus spreading from one sphere to another.
Health officials continue to urge the public to wear a face covering in public, keep a distance of 6 feet from people they don’t live with, regularly wash their hands, maintain a small social bubble and avoid big gatherings.
“Anyone who feels even mildly ill is encouraged to get tested,” the city health department said. “If you test positive, please contact your own close contacts if you can, to minimize the time those people might be out in the community, potentially exposing others.”
[Because of a high volume of comments requiring moderation, we are temporarily disabling comments on many of our articles so editors can focus on the coronavirus crisis and other coverage. We invite you to write a letter to the editor or reach out directly if you’d like to communicate with us about a particular article. Thanks.]
The discovery could help doctors predict earlier on which patients are most at-risk
In this June 27, 2020, photo, people are tested in their in vehicles in Phoenix’s western neighborhood of Maryvale in Phoenix for free COVID-19 tests organized by Equality Health Foundation, which focuses on care in underserved communities. Arizona’s Republican governor shut down bars, movie theaters, gyms and water parks Monday, June 29, and leaders in several states ordered residents to wear masks in public in a dramatic course reversal amid an alarming resurgence of coronavirus cases nationwide. (AP Photo/Matt York) (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Researchers have determined that there are six different “types” of COVID-19, all that have varying degrees of symptoms and severity, according to a study from King’s College London.
Although the discovery may seem daunting, the study’s findings could actually help doctors predict earlier on which patients are most at-risk and likely to be hospitalized, compared to others who may not suffer from severe symptoms.
Typically, the three key symptoms of the coronavirus include cough, fever and loss of smell, according to a report from CBS News.
However, data from the study indicates that COVID-19 symptoms can also range from headaches, muscle pains, fatigue, diarrhea, confusion, loss of appetite, shortness of breathe, and more.
“These findings have important implications for care and monitoring of people who are most vulnerable to severe COVID-19,” said Dr Claire Steves from King’s College London in a statement. “If you can predict who these people are at day five, you have time to give them support and early interventions such as monitoring blood oxygen and sugar levels, and ensuring they are properly hydrated – simple care that could be given at home, preventing hospitalizations and saving lives.”
According to the study, researchers have identified six different groupings of COVID-19 symptoms, as listed below.
‘Flu-like’ with no fever: Headache, loss of smell, muscle pains, cough, sore throat, chest pain, no fever.
‘Flu-like’ with fever: Headache, loss of smell, cough, sore throat, hoarseness, fever, loss of appetite.
Gastrointestinal: Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, diarrhea, sore throat, chest pain, no cough.
Severe level one, fatigue: Headache, loss of smell, cough, fever, hoarseness, chest pain, fatigue.
Severe level two, confusion: Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle pain.
Severe level three, abdominal and respiratory: Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle pain, shortness of breath, diarrhea, abdominal pain.
The discovery of these six different sets of COVID-19 symptoms was developed after researchers used a machine learning algorithm to analyze data they received from an estimated 1,600 users in the United Kingdom and the United States with confirmed COVID-19.
Each of the users regularly logged their symptoms using the app in March and April, according to the study.
Researchers said only 1.5% of patients with cluster 1, 4.4% of people with cluster 2 and 3.3% of people with cluster 3 required breathing support. Whereas, 8.6%, 9.9% and 19.8% for clusters 4, 5, and 6 were reported, respectively.
Nearly half of the patients in cluster 6 ended up in the hospital, compared to just 16% in cluster 1, according to the study.
The good doctor is somewhat less optimistic than the leading coronavirus vaccine developers about timing.
Ever the voice of caution through the current pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci on Friday dampened enthusiasm that an effective and approved coronavirus vaccine is only months away.
Instead, he said during an interview with Washington Post journalist Bob Costa on Friday, “I think as we get into 2021, several months in, that you would have vaccine that would be widely available to people in the United States.”
Image source: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Certain companies, including ambitious biotech Moderna(NASDAQ:MRNA), are making good time putting their vaccine candidates through clinical trials. Yet Fauci, the high-profile director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, doubts that even efforts such as Moderna’s will yield a vaccine that will go into use by the end of 2020.
“I’m a little skeptical about that, but, you know, anything is possible,” he said.
Fauci’s skepticism is based on the processes vaccines have to undergo before coming to market, including comprehensive testing in phase 3 trials and regulatory review. Even when the latter is fast-tracked, it can still be a cumbersome process.
Another problem is production; no matter how prepared a manufacturer might be or how efficient its manufacturing partners, it takes time to produce millions of doses of any vaccine or medication — particularly if it is new.
On Tuesday, executives from Moderna and peer healthcare companiesAstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) testified in a Congressional hearing about their efforts in developing coronavirus vaccines. They expressed optimism that their vaccines might be ready by the end of 2020 or very early next year.
Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
In today’s media availability, Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich took questions on bus drivers not wearing masks, social gatherings, antibody tests, vaccine development and whether Humboldt is on the verge of being put on the state watch list. Plus much more.
Below: The questions asked and a rough summary of Dr. Frankovich’s answers, with timestamps corresponding to the video above.
###
(0:00) Some local bus drivers are being allowed to take off their
facial coverings while driving due to potential visibility impacts
and safety concerns. Does this pose a concern from Public Health’s
standpoint given the number of people who could potentially be
exposed to an unmasked driver in a given day?
Dr. Frankovich says:
“Obviously we want drivers to be safe in their driving. That’s
very important.”
A tip, though: There
are lots of different masks out there, and some of them might work
better for particular people. Dr. Frankovich strongly encourages
drivers to seek out masks that work for them.
(1:30) In recent
weeks, you and Deputy Health Officer Josh Ennis have said repeatedly
that social gatherings and travel have been largely responsible for
local spread of the virus. As we submit this, we’ve seen three dozen
new cases confirmed over the past 10 days. Has this pattern held and
are most of these new cases linked to social gatherings and/or
travel?
“A
big driver of our local cases is related to both
travel and gatherings, and sometimes the two of them combined,” Dr.
Frankovich says. For instance: A person can travel out of the area,
contract the virus, and then attend a social gathering. The original
person is put down as a travel-related
cases, and the others are put down in the “close contact”
category.
(2:55) Are this
week’s cases at all connected to the wedding/large gathering that
took place in Petrolia 2 weeks ago? Does Public Health believe that
the gathering is part of the reason we’ve seen an increase in cases
lately?
No one particular gathering has been a driver, Dr. Frankovich says,
but gatherings overall have been. She reminds people that even though
a young person might attend a function without too much fear of
getting seriously ill, they could become a carrier of the virus and
pass it on to people who are at far greater risk.
(3:45) Given
surging rates of infections and hospitalizations in other parts of
the state and some counties’ inability to conduct sufficient
contact tracing, some legislators and health experts have called on
the governor to issue another statewide shutdown. Do you feel the
state has crossed the threshold to where this may be necessary to
contain the virus or do you think counties should be allowed to
continue to exercise local control where conditions warrant?
“At this point, I would say I would hate to see us put all the way
back into shelter-in-place,” Dr. Frankovich says. “Locally, our
conditions don’t merit that right now.”
(5:10) National
health experts have expressed optimism about the development of an
effective coronavirus vaccine by the end of this year or early 2021.
But at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Rex Bohn
said there may never be a vaccine for COVID-19 and you agreed that’s
a possibility. How realistic do you think it is to expect to have an
effective vaccine with lasting protection against COVID-19 in the
near future?
“What we’re seeing to date is encouraging,” Dr. Frankovich
says. “Is it possible we will have an effective vaccine in early
2021? I think it’s possible. I think if we do, the supply of that
vaccine is going to be an issue.”
There are very promising trials underway right now, she says, but the
bottom line is: We have never produced a vaccine against a
coronavirus before. And it takes a good amount of time to make sure
that a potential vaccine is both safe and effective.
Also: Though vaccine would be key to ending the pandemic, an
effective way to treat people who do come down with the virus – to
keep them alive and healthy – would also be a “game-changer.”
She says she’s hopeful that a treatment might become available in
the near-term.
(7:15) Can you
give an update on PPE available in the county for healthcare workers
and medical staff? Is additional PPE being sent out to nursing homes
and assisted living facilities too?
The
county tries to help other local entities keep their PPE stock up,
Dr. Frankovich says, but most of those entities are also securing
their own supplies. They county will help suppliers, and will also
step in to supply agencies on an emergency basis.
(8:30) Previously
we reported on free antibody testing to detect previous exposure to
COVID 19 that was made available at one local clinic. Are antibody
tests reliable, and will they become readily available to the general
public?
The technology is pretty good now, Dr. Frankovich says, but the
utility of the test can be a problem. “We really don’t know what
it means if we detect an antibody – whether it’s giving you
protection or not, if it does for how long, and what level of
antibody you need to be protected.”
Our immune system is more than just antibodies. A person can come
down with the virus, get well, and still have antibodies in their
blood. The level of those antibodies may dwindle to undetectable
levels, but that person might still be protected from serious disease
by other aspects of the immune system.
At
the end of the next question, Dr. Frankovich adds: Antibody test may
be available through your doctor. She’s not aware of any locally
available free
antibody testing.
(9:45) Do you
know, are COVID-19 particles destroyed via refrigeration or contact
with the sun?
Dr. Frankovich says that she is not aware of either of those things
being an effective means to destroy COVID-19. Sanitizer,
hand-washing, masking, social distancing – those are the ways we
know to stop the spread of the virus.
(10:30) Should
people still seek non-emergency medical care and go to routine
medical appointments at this time?
Yes.
“Certainly we’re seeing an increase in cases and I know that’s
a concern, but I think that as we move forward through the COVID
landscape, we’re going to see that increase rather than decrease
substantially,” Dr. Frankovich says. “I think that’s certainly
the trend. So I think that if you need some routine health care
maintenance done, I think it’s an important time to just get in and
do it.”
(11:20) How
close is Humboldt to being on the monitoring list, are we at all
close?
There are a few
factors that go into placement on the monitoring list. Health care
capacity is one, and we’re fine on that front right now.
The factor that’s
closest to putting us on the list right now, Dr. Frankovich says, is
our case rate. One thing that’ll put a county there is a rate of 25
diagnosed cases per 100,000 population over a period of 14 days –
we’re right around there, and have exceeded it at times –
combined with a positive test rate of 8 percent or greater, which we
are well below.
That positive test
rate is keeping us off the list, but the increase in cases is
concerning.
