UPDATE (11: 58 a.m. PT)– The Oregon Health Authority reported 68 brand-new coronavirus medical diagnoses in Oregon Thursday. That brings Oregon’s verified case overall to 2,127
OHA Thursday likewise reported five new coronavirus-related deaths bringing the state’s overall known deaths to 83
OHA details the new deaths as:
A 94- year-old female in Multnomah County who tested positive on April 3 and passed away on April 22 at her house. She had hidden medical conditions.
A 78- year-old man in Multnomah County who evaluated positive on March 30 and passed away on April 19 at his home. He had hidden medical conditions.
An 87- year-old man in Multnomah County who evaluated favorable on April 20 and passed away on April 22 at Providence Portland Medical Center. He had underlying medical conditions.
A 74- year-old man in Multnomah County who evaluated positive on April 9 and died on April 21 at Adventist Medical. He had hidden medical conditions.
A 70- year-old guy in Clackamas County who evaluated positive on April 1 and died on April 21 at Kaiser Sunnyside Medical. He had hidden medical conditions.
Oregon COVID-19 Map
This map reveals the areas where COVID-19 is more and less prevalent. The colorings are based on the number of cases per million homeowners.
Jacob Fenton/The Accountability Job at the Investigative Reporting Workshop.
Washington state cases continue to climb up
Clark County Public Health stated Thursday that there were 8 brand-new validated cases of coronavirus in Southwest Washington. There are now 321 confirmed cases there.
The firm also announced one new coronavirus-related death Thursday– a male in his 80 s.
To date, 17 people in Clark County are understood to have passed away of COVID-19
The current readily available data from the Washington Department of Health showed the state had reported 12,494 detected cases of the coronavirus and 692 related deaths.
Oregon preliminary joblessness claims continue to grow
The Oregon Employment Department reported Thursday that throughout the week of April 12 to April 18 it got 36,700 initial claims for unemployment benefits.
Since coronavirus-related public health measures started the week of March 15, the department said it has received about 333,700 preliminary joblessness claims.
The best number of preliminary claims recently continued to come from the leisure and hospitality sector, which includes hotels and restaurants, the department said.
The department said it has detailed details for 31,700 of the claims submitted recently and 8,000 came from that sector.
Oregon Work Department reveals new claims center for gig employees
The Oregon Work Department Wednesday revealed it is working to streamline joblessness claims for gig employees and small business owners through a brand-new processing claims center.
Labor force and labor policy adviser Christian Gaston said Wednesday that the system will remain in location within the next two weeks.
Gaston stated that the work department is “essentially as much as date” with “simple” claims, but “complicated” claims continue to slow down the system.
Claims for gig workers and small company owners will begin going through the new system in about a week and a half, he said.
Picturesque highway barriers keep Gorge closed
The Columbia River Scenic Highway had actually stayed open even after parks along the path were closed. But a handful of individuals breached the park bans, requiring the Oregon State Parks to close the highway to any traffic whatsoever. Now, park workers at barriers are keeping drivers, bicyclists and hikers away.
A brand-new study found that females clear coronavirus from their systems much quicker than males.
The scientists hypothesize that high concentrations of ACE2-expressing cells in the testes may save more coronavirus.
There are numerous confounding factors to this mystery– some genetic, others social and behavioral.
There’s much we don’t learn about unique coronavirus. We do not know how the virus leaped from bats to humans– though pangolins appear the intermediate hosts. We do not understand the levels of antibodies amongst recuperating people or if warmer weather condition will suppress the virus’s transmission rate.
One of the more difficult COVID-19 mysteries is why the illness kills men at approximately twice the rate of ladies. Since this writing, New York City has suffered 146 COVID-19 deaths for every 100,000 males, according to the city’s Health Department data. On the other hand, 84 females have passed away in the city per 100,000 Guys have actually also been hospitalized at a greater rate.
” More than two-thirds of the intubated patients are males,” Dr. Joseph Lowy, a palliative care and hospice physician at NYU Langone Health, informed the New York City Times “I understand of no other illness that has that kind of predilection for one gender over another [excluding reproductive diseases].”
Information have actually revealed comparable patterns in China, Italy, South Korea, and Washington state.
But a recent study may have discovered an essential idea in resolving this mystery– a possible coronavirus repository discovered only in guys.
A lab professional at Queen Elizabeth University Health Center, Glasgow, holds a container of test-tube samples from individuals checked for novel coronavirus.
( Photo: Andrew Milligan/AFP by means of Getty Images)
The research study, submitted to MedRxiv, found that men take longer to clear the infection from their systems than women.
Taking males’s slow viral clearance and the ACE2 expression of testicular cells together, they hypothesize that the testes may serve as a repository for the infection, discussing its prolonged tenancy in men.
Further research study needed
The Montefiore-Einstein research study is currently initial, and more research study will be needed before scientists can determine what, if anything, its results brighten.
The research study is presently released on Medrxiv, a preprint distributor. This means the study has been shared publicly prior to going through the peer-review procedure.
Preprints permit researchers to communicate their findings before official publication, which can take months if not a year or longer. This pre-publication can cause early feedback, increased presence, and brand-new partnerships. It’s especially practical for early-career researchers attempting to establish themselves.
However, provided the speed at which coronavirus is spreading, scientists have leaned on preprints as a means of sharing information to other professionals quicker than the peer evaluation enables. As an outcome, Medrixiv has seen a surge of preprint studies, but they must read within the context of their preliminary status.
The Montefiore-Einstein likewise has its constraints. The study had a preliminary sample size of only 68 subjects (48 males, 20 women) and an additional evaluation of three households. And the connection of coronavirus to ACE2 enzymes in the testes originated from database research, not direct observation.
The researchers acknowledge the requirement for additional investigation. In specific, Shastri stresses the need to validate the coronavirus’s capability to contaminate and increase in testicular tissue. If other scientists discover their information appealing, they might progress with new research to build on the study and see if this clue suits the mystery.
One clue among lots of
Coronavirus protesters in Los Angeles. Guys are more likely than ladies to ignore health warnings from officials.
( Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP by means of Getty Images)
Male’s severe reaction to COVID-19 might be due to numerous factors, of which a viral repository is simply one. Another might just be the reality that guys are, well, men.
” We see that even amongst individuals without recognized health problems and in kids, males have even worse outcomes,” Ryan Steele, an assistant professor of clinical medicine in rheumatology, allergy, and immunology at Yale School of Medicine, informed Health “This would show that the underlying differences in the immune response among genders might play a bigger role than we have appreciated up until now.”
Ladies have a far stronger body immune system reaction, which scientists think might originate from their 2nd X chromosome. Considering that the largest variety of immune-related genes are X-linked, females may get a boost in immune expression– however, they are more at risk of autoimmune diseases. Hormones might contribute, too. Estrogen has been shown to trigger the cells associated with antiviral reactions, while testosterone reduces swelling.
Researchers can’t dismiss behavioral elements either. In the United States, guys are more likely to be cigarette smokers than women and most likely to struggle with alcohol use condition. Smokers are in the high-risk group for COVID-19, while heavy alcohol use has actually been shown to suppress a wide variety of immune actions.
Men have also been shown to delay seeking healthcare, clean their hands less regularly, and be more overlooking of health cautions about the coronavirus.
” There are profound sex distinctions in immune systems, and this pandemic is revealing them,” Marcia Stefanick, teacher of medication at Stanford University School of Medicine, told the Wall Street Journal “What is biology versus what are our social standards and gender habits puzzles our ability to understand what’s going on.”
While we wait on researchers to separate the clues from the red herrings, males can do their part: Listen to the professionals, seek care when essential, and washing your hands.
5: 59 p.m. — Bike to Work Day has been pushed back
The coronavirus has pushed Bike to Work Day From June 24 to Sept. 22.
“To maintain the health of riders and of our communities, we believe it’s best to delay Bike to Work day due to the current situation,” said Betsy Jacobsen, the manager of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Bicycle, Pedestrian, & Scenic Byways Section.
But cycling is still a great way to exercise during the state’s stay-at-home order, so get out there and ride.
— Nathaniel Minor
4: 08 p.m. — The latest coronavirus case numbers
There are 11,262 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Colorado as of Wednesday, April 22, according to the latest from state health officials.
That marks an increase of 384 positive cases from the previous day’s release of data.
The statewide death total is now 552 after 44 more people were reported to die by the disease.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment this week has started reporting deaths by the date of death rather than the date it was reported to the state. CPR has updated our charts to reflect those changes.
The state this week has also started reporting more deaths as “probable” COVID-related based on death certificate information.
“A death is classified as ‘probable’ if the decedent was a Colorado resident who had no known positive laboratory test for COVID-19 but the death certificate lists as a cause of death ‘COVID-19’ or an equivalent,” the state wrote in a release.
Those new deaths have made it appear as if there was a larger jump between yesterday and today than there really was. The “new” deaths are spread over the last 5 weeks in reality.
2,237 cases have been hospitalized.
Seven more outbreaks at workplaces and long-term care facilities were reported, bringing Colorado’s total to 130.
The state has tested more than 52,000 people.
— Alex Scoville
2: 23 p.m. — Families receiving subsidized child care will get more support
The Colorado Department of Human Services is extending child care benefits and assistance to families in need during the coronavirus crisis.
Families who qualify for the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (or CCCAP) and are currently job hunting will now have six months of subsidized child care, up from three.
The Department of Human Services will also extend the subsidized period for all families currently enrolled in CCCAP from 12 to 15 months.
The state is also partnering with the Mile High United Way, Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance, Women’s Foundation of Colorado and Executives Partnering to Invest in Children to purchase and distribute supplies — such as gloves, bleach and paper towels — for child care centers.
— Alex Scoville
1: 38 p.m. — This is what it’s like to be in a retirement home right now
Courtesy of Elaine YaffeElaine Yaffe wrote about her experience for a “Coronavirus Diaries” series that chronicles how people’s lives are affected.
One of the hardest things about living in a Denver senior living facility in the COVID-19 world is not being able to see any family, said Elaine Yaffe, in a recent article for Slate Magazine.
A former journalist herself, she wrote about her experience for a “Coronavirus Diaries” series that chronicles how people’s lives are affected. “I Live in a Retirement Home. My World is Shrinking,” recounts her struggle with a total loss of independence.
“Last week, they locked the doors and sealed them with yellow tape, giving this residence for 100old people the appearance of a crime scene,” Yaffe wrote. “Then they posted the signs announcing that no one from the outside — not family, not friends, not vendors, not anyone — could enter.”
In an interview on Colorado Matters, Yaffe recalled when the facility administration first decided that family members couldn’t visit — even outside on the grounds of the facility. The trigger event was when a resident was seen hugging someone outside. As of now, of course, all eldercare facilities in the state have barred visitors.
“I think when you get this old, you fight very hard for your autonomy and your independence,” she said. “And in the case of us being deprived of our families…it almost felt as if we were teenagers who had violated the Saturday night curfew.”
Most people in the facility aren’t panicked about getting the virus, she noted.
“Maybe that’s because when you’re over 80, you have really come to terms with [your] own mortality and you’re aware that life is finite and it’s going to end.”
She’s most concerned with her grandchildren and the fact that their education is now completely online and has been “disrupted in a very profound way.” Her worry is they’ll miss out on the experiences and personal connections that kids develop at school.
— Andrea Dukakis
12: 11 p.m — State releases public health order requiring critical business employees to wear masks
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Thursday released a public health order officially requiring face coverings for workers at critical businesses
“All employees of Critical Businesses or performing Critical Government Functions who work in close proximity to other employees or with the public shall wear a medical or non-medical face covering to help prevent the spread of disease,” the order states. Read the entire order below:
— Daniel J. Schneider
11: 09 a.m — Uncertainty reigns as the state prepares for first steps toward reopening
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsSigns from the continuing lockdown on non-essential businesses because of coronavirus, in Colorado Springs, Wednesday, April 22, 2020.
Colorado will take its first tentative steps toward reopening on Monday, April 27, and not everyone who could reopen is ready to.
First off, only certain types of businesses can reopen on Monday — and those only with strict adherence to social distancing guidelines.
Many retailers still are faced with more questions than answers when it comes to what next week will look like as they reopen with curbside pickup and social distancing.
Some business owners, though they need the money, are hesitant about reopening at all under the current climate.
Meanwhile, advocates for the state’s most vulnerable populations are concerned that reopening is premature without widespread testing available.
“We are feeling very nervous about lifting stay-at-home until we have more widespread testing,” Cathy Alderman, vice president of communications and public policy for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, tells Denverite.
Read the rest of the story on Denverite for more on other vulnerable groups.
— Daniel J. Schneider
10: 11 a.m — Coronavirus presents a huge challenge for U.S. meat plants
Hart Van Denburg/CPR NewsThe JBS Greeley Beef Plant on Friday April 3, 2020.
Dozens of U.S. meat-processing plants have been forced to close temporarily as the industry struggles to contain the spread of the coronavirus among employees who often stand side-by-side while cutting and packaging beef, pork and poultry.
The giant slaughterhouses that employ thousands are designed to have workers close together, making it difficult to adhere to social-distancing guidelines that advise people should stay 6 feet apart. Even as companies take steps to protect workers, industry experts say it’s nearly impossible to eliminate all risk of catching the virus and they note safety measures have been adopted unevenly.
The list of companies dealing with infected workers has grown daily. Among the latest was the closure Wednesday of Tyson Foods’ huge pork-processing plant in Waterloo, Iowa, after numerous workers tested positive. That follows closures of a Smithfield Foods pork plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; a JBS beef plant in Greeley; and many others. Some, including the Tyson pork plant in Perry, Iowa, have reopened after deep cleanings.
— Associated Press
9: 57 a.m. — Custer County wants to set its own reopening timetable
As Colorado plans for its current statewide stay-at-home restrictions to expire, several Southern Colorado counties want permission to conduct their own phased reopening of businesses.
In a Facebook announcement Wednesday, Custer County officials said they plan to send a waiver application to the state to allow local officials to determine their own phases of reopening.
The move comes after Fremont County officials announced plans earlier this week to do much the same. Their request was dated Tuesday and addressed to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
— Andrea Chalfin
9: 03 a.m. — Expect more detailed mortality data from the state soon
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will soon make a change to the publicly released data for the coronavirus pandemic.
Previously, the state’s death data was by “reported date,” which meant the data was counted by the day the department received it. The department intends to report the data going forward by the date of actual death.
Additionally, “probable” deaths will be added. According to the department, “a death is classified as ‘probable’ if the decedent was a Colorado resident who had no known positive laboratory test for COVID-19 but the death certificate lists as a cause of death ‘COVID-19’ or an equivalent.” They expect this change will increase the death count of the pandemic by about 130 extra deaths.
The department noted there will other data changes including:
An increase in cases due to more targeted testing
A decrease in county case counts due to the removal of out-of-state cases
A general update of data that could increase case counts
— Jim Hill
8: 47 a.m. — Polis will virtually visit Eagle County today
Polis will meet with the Eagle County Board of Commissioners and officials from Vail Health to consider whether the state will allow the county to be exempt from some COVID-19 orders and reopen. The Vail Daily reports that Eagle would like to allow gatherings up to 10 and reopen some parks, retails shops and service businesses.
— Andrew Villegas
7: 51 a.m. — Denver Health expanding testing
Hospital systems have had a limited number of tests and have had to prioritize who gets them. Now, Denver Health is adding a new group: outpatients with symptoms of the disease. They must be part of the Denver Health system and make an appointment to be sent to one of three drive-up sites.
“If we identify people who are positive, we hope that they will isolate themselves,” said Dr. Tom MacKenzie, the chief quality officer at Denver Health. “And that anyone who has been in contact with them will have a heightened awareness about their potential exposure.”
MacKenzie said the expanded testing will help ensure that more people who are contagious stay home. The next step will be testing those who are asymptomatic.
— Andrea Dukakis
7: 17 a.m. — House oversight vote expected today
The U.S. House of Representatives meets this morning to vote on whether to set up a Select Committee on the coronavirus crisis. There’s a party-line divide over whether that’s necessary.
Colorado Democrat Ed Perlmutter says even a hundred oversight committees wouldn’t be enough to match the scope of the problem.
“We need to have oversight that looks at our health care systems, our businesses, our people,” he said. “Who gets the assistance, when they get it, where they get it, why they get it, how they get it.”
Republicans argue there are already several oversight mechanisms in place for the country’s COVID-19 response. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the creation of the select committee earlier this month.
— Caitlyn Kim
7: 03 a.m. — 26 million nationwide have applied for unemployment
More than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as job cuts escalated across an economy that remains all but shut down, the government said Thursday.
Colorado saw a drop in claims filed over a previous record high set just the week before. During the week that ended April 18, 68,667 claims were filed — a 34.3 percent drop over the 104,572 claims previously filed.
Tests to see whether individuals have antibodies to the coronavirus and are perhaps immune will be offered in New Mexico in a week or so, health authorities stated Wednesday.
Dr. Richard Larson
The viral screening being carried out in the state determines whether individuals presently have COVID-19 An antibody, or serological, test shows whether somebody has established antibodies to the virus, which indicates they have actually currently been exposed to it.
It is believed that the majority of people exposed to the coronavirus don’t reveal symptoms, so such a test could offer insight into how the infection has actually spread out amongst those who didn’t understand it, said Dr. Richard Larson, executive vice chancellor of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences.
Larson predicted antibody testing will reveal that the virus is more widespread than present health department data suggest.
Research studies from somewhere else in the nation show it’s possible that more than 50 times as lots of people have antibodies to the virus compared with those who tested positive after establishing symptoms, health officials stated.
” I think we’re going to have a few hundred thousand people, if that holds up, who are immune in New Mexico,” Larson stated.
A large-scale research study based upon antibody screening in Los Angeles County in California showed in between 221,000 and 442,000 grownups had antibodies to the virus at a time when there were just 8,000 positive tests, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Larson discussed antibody screening at a virtual Albuquerque Economic Forum on Wednesday morning. And Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and other state officials spoke about the test at a rundown in the afternoon.
” The (antibody testing) is critical in understanding everything we can about the prevalence of the infection, immunity to the infection and being able to ensure customers that, as we take a look at economic healing, are you safe to go in to a grocery store or a service?” Lujan Grisham stated during the briefing.
TriCore Referral Laboratories is working to get antibody screening validated and it might be up and running in seven to 10 days, Larson stated. Laboratory officials didn’t return require comment Wednesday.
Dr. David Scrase, cabinet secretary for the Health and Person Solutions Department, cautioned versus drawing too many conclusions from serology test outcomes. He said, it isn’t known whether individuals who have antibodies are immune from the coronavirus, or how long that resistance would last.
” The antibody tests helps us understand our population much better. … And it will permit us to make better decisions,” Scrase stated.
The test could prove advantageous to healthcare facilities, Larson stated, if authorities understood which of its workers were most likely unsusceptible to the infection and could then look after clients.
He warned against allowing the “concerned well”– those who actually need no medical treatment but are looking for assurance– to be provided immediate access to the tests and use minimal resources once the tests are unveiled.
Both Scrase and Larson suggested tests not be used as a magic bullet for raising stay-at-home directions and opening up the economy.
” I believe you can’t rely on it,” Larson stated. “It will work, but it’s not going to be something where you are going to state, ‘Just the people who get a favorable (antibody) test return (to work) and then those who do not, do not.’ “
A secret clouded the death of Patricia Dowd in early February.
The San Jose female was a seemingly healthy 57- year-old who exercised regularly, enjoyed her diet and took no medication. She had flu-like symptoms for a couple of days, then appeared to recuperate, a relative stated. Then she was found dead Feb. 6, and the initial offender appeared to be a heart attack.
This week, authorities verified to Dowd’s household that she evaluated positive for the novel coronavirus, making her the first such documented fatality in the nation.
Health authorities in Santa Clara County did not determine Dowd by name, describing the decedent as a 57- year-old woman who passed away at home. The Times separately validated her death from relative.
Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody said the deaths of 3 individuals in the county– one Feb. 6, another Feb. 17, and a 3rd March 6– were evidence that the novel coronavirus arrived in the Bay Location far earlier than anticipated and spread. Formerly, the very first recorded death was outdoors Seattle on Feb. 29.
” None of these cases had a significant travel history,” Cody stated Wednesday of the 3 deaths. “We presume that each of them represent community transmission and that there was some considerable level of virus distributing in our community in early February … and who understands just how much previously.”
Cody described the cases as “iceberg ideas,” a prophecy of a vast and hidden propagation. The individual who passed away on Feb. 17 was a 69- year-old man. The March 6 victim was a 70- year-old male.
Cody said the robust influenza season this winter season, paired with restricted screening and a nascent understanding of the coronavirus, resulted in this late detection.
” It would be challenging to select what was influenza and what was COVID-19,” Cody stated. She credited the county’s medical examiner and health authorities for making the effort to comprehend the virus and assistance find these three deaths.
Member of the family stated Dowd, who worked as manager for semiconductor business, ended up being abnormally ill in late January and was required to cancel plans to go to a weekend funeral service.
After a bout with flu-like signs, nevertheless, she had actually enhanced and was working from house, corresponding with a coworker at about 8 a.m. the day of her death.
About two hours later, her daughter discovered her dead. As family members learned more about the symptoms of the coronavirus, suspicions grew.
Dowd had a history of foreign travel, as did her co-workers at Lam Research study in the Bay Location.
Her brother-in-law, Jeff Macias, said Dowd had planned to take a trip to China later this year and went abroad “several times a year to different worldwide areas.”
” Where did this come from if it wasn’t her traveling?” Macias stated. “Patricia might not be the. It’s simply the earliest we have discovered up until now.”
He added: “Let’s keep looking so we know the level of it– that’s the higher good, for everybody else and my household included.”
Her elder sibling, Rick Cabello, concurred that his sibling’s death was a shock.
Cabello said his sibling was hardworking, devoted and caring. Her only child had actually simply finished college. Dowd had a network of pals that dated to her childhood and her time at St. Francis High School in Mountain View, where the siblings matured.
” She was living the life she should have,” Cabello said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrives on Capitol Hill wearing a mask.
Andrew Harnik/AP
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrives on Capitol Hill wearing a mask.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Updated at 7: 00 p.m. ET
The House approved the latest measure to prop up the U.S. economy and provide aid to the health care system after deploying an elaborate voting system to allow lawmakers to vote while practicing social distancing.
The measure passed overwhelmingly — 388-5, with one lawmaker voting present.
The five lawmakers who voted against the package included one Democrat — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York — and four Republicans — Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Jody Hice of Georgia, Ken Buck of Colorado and Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
The Senate approved the legislation on Tuesday and it now heads to President Trump, who has said he will sign it.
“We have our differences, but we are coming together on this particular bill, and I am proud of that,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, who made the case for ongoing, robust federal intervention as the only way out of the crisis. Pelosi wore a white scarf to cover her face, but lowered it to speak on the House floor.
“I think that we have to do whatever we can to recognize that public policy has a role here, that governance carries with it responsibilities and opportunity and results and progress for the American people,” she said, “And that science and governance are the answers to meeting the health care needs and meeting the needs of our economy as we go forward.”
The $484 billion package includes an additional $321 billion for the newly created Paycheck Protection Program, a lending program designed to help small businesses stay afloat with forgivable loans during the crisis. PPP was popular and ran out of its initial influx of $350 billion in just two weeks. It is likely the program will need additional funding. Republicans have criticized Democrats for holding up the bill — initially a stand alone $250 billion request to fund PPP.
“It’s unfortunate that Speaker Pelosi decided to hold up this bill more than a week while small businesses and their workers desperately fought to hold on, especially minority-owned businesses in underserved communities,” said Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, “They suffered, and during this unnecessary delay America’s jobless numbers climbed to 26 million.”
Speaking to reporters on Thursday during the daily White House coronavirus task force briefing, Trump commended the Congress for reaching an agreement on the additional relief.
“I’m grateful that Congress is answering my calls to deliver these additional $320 billion in relief for the American worker and small businesses,” Trump said.
In the end, Democrats secured an additional $60 billion carve out for smaller banks to assist businesses, many minority-owned, that have struggled to borrow from bigger lenders. It also includes $100 billion Democrats sought for hospitals and more testing.
The House debate included stark images reflective of the time: House Chaplain Patrick Conroy delivered the opening prayer wearing a yellow mask, as did most lawmakers and aides who appeared in the chamber. The visitors’ galleries, normally open to the public, were closed.
It was the first roll call vote in the House since it approved a prior coronavirus relief bill on March 14. After that vote, two lawmakers fell ill and about a dozen others self-quarantined as a result. One of those quarantined members, Rep. Joe Cunningham, D-S.C., later tested positive for COVID-19. House leaders installed more aggressive social distancing guidelines for today’s votes.
“We should be mindful of the people surrounding us,” said House Rules Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., who is leading an ongoing effort to find ways to allow lawmakers to vote and hold hearings remotely.
Members were directed to vote in smaller groups broken down by alphabetical order for each vote. Between floor speeches and votes, lawmakers were asked to stay in their offices. And members were asked to vote by machine and not a manual card that requires more contact. Short recesses were held between debates and votes to clean the chamber.
This is the fourth measure Congress has approved since March 1 to confront coronavirus and the economic fallout. While all four enjoyed fast, bipartisan support, there are signals that the parties are retreating to more familiar partisan lines for an anticipated fifth package.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he wants a “pause” before Congress considers additional legislation, and that it is unlikely additional measures will be able to pass the Senate by unanimous consent, which is generally reserved for non-controversial bills. He has also indicated he will oppose any no-strings-attached funding for states and that he supports a new legal channel for states to declare bankruptcy to address their fiscal woes.
Among the measures Congress is expected to debate for inclusion in future legislation is funding for state and local governments to make up for budget shortfalls, additional cash payments to American workers and families, extended unemployment benefits, aid for the U.S. Postal Service and first responders, and new infrastructure spending.
The pandemic also continues to affect lawmakers directly. Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., announced on the House floor that her sister is hospitalized with coronavirus. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., announced that her eldest brother died from the virus on Tuesday.
The preliminary data suggests that many more New Yorkers may have been infected than was previously believed.
Right Now
A top New York City health official warned against relying heavily on antibody tests in making decisions about social distancing and restarting the economy.
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The 14th Street subway station at Sixth Avenue in Manhattan on Thursday.Credit…Brittainy Newman/The New York Times
More than one in five people who were tested for virus antibodies in N.Y.C. had them.
More than 21 percent of around 1,300 people in New York City who were tested for coronavirus antibodies this week were found to have them, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Thursday.
The results were from a state program that tested 3,000 supermarket customers across New York State. Nearly 14 percent of the tests came back positive, Mr. Cuomo said.
It was unclear just how telling the preliminary data was, as Mr. Cuomo acknowledged. And the accuracy of the antibody testing available in the United States in general has been called into question.
Antibody tests are intended to signal whether a person may have built immunity to virus. They do not test for the virus itself.
But if the state’s numbers indicated the true incidence of the virus, they would mean that more than 1.7 million people in New York City, and more than 2.6 million people statewide, have already been infected.
That is far greater than the 250,000 confirmed cases of the virus itself that the state has recorded.
It would also mean that the fatality rate from the virus was relatively low, about 0.5 percent, Mr. Cuomo said.
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transcript
transcript
Antibody Tests Show High Infection Rate for New York City
About 21 percent of people in New York City who were tested for coronavirus antibodies tested positive, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said.
So we have undertaken the largest, most comprehensive study of New York State to find out what is the infection rate. And that we started a few days ago. Sample size, so far, 3,000 people statewide. Let’s find out what the infection rate is. We have preliminary data on Phase 1, and this is going to be ongoing. We did about 3,000 tests. But what we found so far is the statewide number is 13.9 percent tested positive for having the antibodies. What does that mean? It means these are people who were infected, and who developed the antibodies to fight the infection. Long island at 16.7, New York City at 21.2 Westchester/Rockland, 11.7 and rest of state, 3.6. This basically quantifies what we’ve been seeing anecdotally, and what we have known, but it puts numbers to it. It changes the theories of what the death rate is. If you get infected, 13 percent of the population is about 2.7 million people who have been infected. If you look at what we have now as a death total, which is 15,500, that would be about 0.5 percent death rate.
About 21 percent of people in New York City who were tested for coronavirus antibodies tested positive, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said.CreditCredit…Cindy Schultz for The New York Times
The city’s top disease control official, Dr. Demetre C. Daskalakis, wrote in an email alert on Wednesday that the tests “may produce false negative or false positive results,” pointing to “significant voids” in using the science to pinpoint immunity.
Mr. Cuomo declined to speculate on what the preliminary data might mean. He said its main use would be to provide a baseline for tracking changes in the infection rate.
Supermarket customers do not constitute a random sample of the population. On one hand, they are out in public and spending time in stores, which could increase their exposure to the virus.
On the other hand, they are presumably not actively sick, or living in nursing homes, where the virus has taken a heavy toll. And, of course, no one who was killed by the virus was tested for antibodies.
“What does it mean? I don’t know,” Mr. Cuomo said. “These are people who were out and about shopping. They were not people who were in their homes, they were not people who were isolated, they were not people who were quarantined.”
Mr. Cuomo also released the state’s daily figures of deaths and hospitalizations:
Deaths are falling: 438 deaths were reported on Thursday, down from 474 on Wednesday. The number of deaths in the first four days of this week is down 33 percent compared with the first four days of last week. The state’s death toll is now 15,740.
New hospital admissions remain flat: The number of virus patients entering hospitals has stayed around 1,360 a day for the last three days. That is down from around 3,000 a day at the start of the month.
Death toll among homeless New Yorkers reaches 51.
Fifty-one people in the care of the city Department of Homeless Services have died of complications related to the coronavirus, which has now spread to more than a third of the city’s 450 shelters, the agency reported on Thursday.
The overall toll rose on Wednesday when officials learned of the deaths of three men who had been living in shelters meant for single adults and who died after being hospitalized with the virus, officials said.
Nearly three of every four homeless people who have died of the virus and were being tracked by the homeless services agency were adults living in shelters where multiple people share rooms and bathrooms.
At a meeting on Thursday, the City Council’s general welfare committee took up legislation that, among other things, would require that single homeless adults be provided with private rooms.
Advocates for homeless people have pushed the city to move people out of shelters into empty hotel rooms, where they would be in a better position to isolate themselves.
Before the pandemic hit New York, about 3,500 single adults were living in double hotel rooms because there were not enough shelters to accommodate them.
To protect the most vulnerable shelter residents from the virus, the city began to move older people, those with underlying health conditions and others out of 10 most densely populated shelters. As many as eight to 12 people can live in one room in some shelters, making it difficult to practice social distancing. The city expects to move about 2,500 homeless people.
Advocates have argued that all homeless people should have access to empty hotel rooms, as health care workers and people who have homes but cannot safely stay in them have had under separate programs.
The programs drew scrutiny this week after three men were found dead at a Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan last Saturday.
N.Y.C. jail officers say they must work around the clock in a “cesspool of illness.”
New York City’s jails, where inmates and correction officers cram together in cell blocks that are unsanitary and crowded even at normal times, have been among the most vulnerable workplaces during the pandemic.
The virus had infected 587 correction staff members and 323 inmates in the city’s jails as of Thursday, according to data from the officers union. Nine staff members and at least two inmates have died.
In a lawsuit filed on Thursday, the union accused the city of putting correction officers at further risk by requiring them to work overtime to fill staffing shortages. Some officers, the suit says, have been forced to work three straight shifts of at least eight hours each.
The union, the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, said the 24-hour shifts were damaging the officers’ physical and mental health and forcing them into a “cesspool of illness.”
Adding to the officers’ exposure, the suit says, was the city’s failure to require that those who missed work after showing signs of illness test negative for the virus before letting them return.
A spokesman for the city’s Law Department said officials would review the issues raised in the suit carefully. He said the city had been working to keep the jails safe by following guidelines established by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention while “addressing challenging staffing issues.”
In an earlier suit, the union accused the city of failing to provide adequate testing, masks and other protective gear to its members. The union said it had to get 25,000 N95 masks for officers from its own supplier.
The two sides settled that suit this month, with the city agreeing to provide, among other things, free testing for any correction employee who exhibited virus symptoms or who had been exposed to someone with the virus.
Most N.Y.C. patients hospitalized with the virus had a chronic condition, a study found.
A new study of thousands of people who were hospitalized in New York City after contracting the coronavirus found that more than nine in 10 had at least one chronic health condition and that most had at least two.
The findings were included in a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that describes the characteristics of thousands of Covid-19 patients admitted fromMarch 1 to April 4 at a dozen hospitals in New York City and Westchester County and on Long Island that are operated by Northwell Health.
The paper was written by scientists at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research,Northwell’s research arm. The senior author cautioned that the study was observational in nature, and that there was no comparison group with which to contrast frailties or outcomes.
The researchers found that dozens of children and teenagers were hospitalized with the virus, but survived it, and that women had a clear edge in beating the virus. Fewer of them were hospitalized to begin with, and they were more likely to survive.
One in five hospital stays ended in death. The mortality rate for those who were placed on ventilators and were no longer in the hospital was 88 percent. That was higher than some other early case reports, which found death rates of 50 percent to almost 70 percent, have shown.
Given that the length of hospital stays in the Northwell cases was relatively short, four days on average, it is possible that those who died were mainly patients who were so ill that any treatment was unlikely to help them.
Like several other reports on smaller patient groups at area hospitals, the Northwell research indicated that obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes were common risk factors for severe Covid-19 disease requiring hospitalization. One of the most striking findings: only 6 percent of hospitalized patients had no underlying health conditions at all.
Hospitals play “songs of hope” when virus patients get well.
In the 11 days he spent fighting off the coronavirus as a patient at Montefiore Nyack Hospital, there was one thing Mark Schwarz couldn’t figure out.
“You would randomly start hearing music playing and wonder, ‘What’s that for?’” Mr. Schwarz said.
On Monday, when it finally came time for Mr. Schwarz to go home from the hospital in Nyack, N.Y., he heard for himself: The cheerful chorus of the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” rang through the hospital hallways.
Many hospitals around New York have adopted semiofficial songs to celebrate the release of virus patients. “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “Every Breath You Take” are among the popular ones.
At some hospitals, the music starts playing long before discharge. At Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, nurses call for a “Code Sun” when a patient is removed from a ventilator and successfully breathing on their own; Montefiore Nyack plays it when patients move out of intensive care.
“Honestly,” said Devjit Roy, Mr. Schwarz’s doctor at Montefiore Nyack, “I guess it’s just the sound of hope.”
New Jersey closes in on 100,000 virus cases.
New Jersey was on the verge of reaching 100,000 virus cases, Governor Philip D. Murphy said on Thursday.
Mr. Murphy noted the cruel milestone while reporting that the state had recorded 307 new virus-related deaths, pushing the toll in the past four days to more than 1,100 and overall total to 5,368.
Mr. Murphy reported 4,247 new cases at his daily briefing on Thursday, bringing the total to 99,989. He noted that 46,000 of those involved people who had cleared the virus’s two-week incubation period.
“Let’s remember that there are tens of thousands of residents who received a positive result who have now likely defeated the virus,” he said.
The number of hospitalizations rose slightly to 7,240 but the number of people on ventilators fell to 1,462, the lowest it has been in nearly three weeks, Mr. Murphy said.
As he regularly does, Mr. Murphy memorialized some of the state residents who have died of the virus.
They included Carolyn Martins-Reitz, a 55-year-old graphic designer who died at the end of March, and her son, Thomas Martins, who died a week later around his 30th birthday. Ms. Martins-Reitz doted on her son, who had Down syndrome, Mr. Murphy said.
He also mentioned Dave Clark, 47, a firefighter from Bay Head who died over the weekend, and Rick Vanderclock, 71, who was a state trooper for 29 years.
Mr. Murphy said Rutgers University had developed a saliva test that would be given to 1,200 patients and 4,300 employees of the state’s five developmental centers, which treat residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The test relies on saliva to show the presence of the coronavirus and university officials have said it would allow for broader virus screening than the current method of using nose and throat swabs.
“With this new testing we can test 10,000 people a day,” said Dr. Brian L. Strom, the chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences.
Reporting was contributed by Jonah Engel Bromwich, Pam Belluck, Nancy Coleman, Maria Cramer, Luis Ferré-Sadurní, J. David Goodman, Nicole Hong, Christine Negroni, Andy Newman, Sarah Maslin Nir, Roni Caryn Rabin, Michael Rothfeld and Nikita Stewart.
Updated April 11, 2020
When will this end?
This is a difficult question, because a lot depends on how well the virus is contained. A better question might be: “How will we know when to reopen the country?” In an American Enterprise Institute report, Scott Gottlieb, Caitlin Rivers, Mark B. McClellan, Lauren Silvis and Crystal Watson staked out four goal posts for recovery: Hospitals in the state must be able to safely treat all patients requiring hospitalization, without resorting to crisis standards of care; the state needs to be able to at least test everyone who has symptoms; the state is able to conduct monitoring of confirmed cases and contacts; and there must be a sustained reduction in cases for at least 14 days.
How can I help?
The Times Neediest Cases Fund has started a special campaign to help those who have been affected, which accepts donations here. Charity Navigator, which evaluates charities using a numbers-based system, has a running list of nonprofits working in communities affected by the outbreak. You can give blood through the American Red Cross, and World Central Kitchen has stepped in to distribute meals in major cities. More than 30,000 coronavirus-related GoFundMe fund-raisers have started in the past few weeks. (The sheer number of fund-raisers means more of them are likely to fail to meet their goal, though.)
What should I do if I feel sick?
If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
Should I wear a mask?
The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.
How do I get tested?
If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested.
How does coronavirus spread?
It seems to spread very easily from person to person, especially in homes, hospitals and other confined spaces. The pathogen can be carried on tiny respiratory droplets that fall as they are coughed or sneezed out. It may also be transmitted when we touch a contaminated surface and then touch our face.
Is there a vaccine yet?
No. Clinical trials are underway in the United States, China and Europe. But American officials and pharmaceutical executives have said that a vaccine remains at least 12 to 18 months away.
What makes this outbreak so different?
Unlike the flu, there is no known treatment or vaccine, and little is known about this particular virus so far. It seems to be more lethal than the flu, but the numbers are still uncertain. And it hits the elderly and those with underlying conditions — not just those with respiratory diseases — particularly hard.
What if somebody in my family gets sick?
If the family member doesn’t need hospitalization and can be cared for at home, you should help him or her with basic needs and monitor the symptoms, while also keeping as much distance as possible, according to guidelines issued by the C.D.C. If there’s space, the sick family member should stay in a separate room and use a separate bathroom. If masks are available, both the sick person and the caregiver should wear them when the caregiver enters the room. Make sure not to share any dishes or other household items and to regularly clean surfaces like counters, doorknobs, toilets and tables. Don’t forget to wash your hands frequently.
Should I stock up on groceries?
Plan two weeks of meals if possible. But people should not hoard food or supplies. Despite the empty shelves, the supply chain remains strong. And remember to wipe the handle of the grocery cart with a disinfecting wipe and wash your hands as soon as you get home.
Can I go to the park?
Yes, but make sure you keep six feet of distance between you and people who don’t live in your home. Even if you just hang out in a park, rather than go for a jog or a walk, getting some fresh air, and hopefully sunshine, is a good idea.
Should I pull my money from the markets?
That’s not a good idea. Even if you’re retired, having a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds so that your money keeps up with inflation, or even grows, makes sense. But retirees may want to think about having enough cash set aside for a year’s worth of living expenses and big payments needed over the next five years.
What should I do with my 401(k)?
Watching your balance go up and down can be scary. You may be wondering if you should decrease your contributions — don’t! If your employer matches any part of your contributions, make sure you’re at least saving as much as you can to get that “free money.”
Rick Bright, deputy assistant secretary for preparedness and response for Health and Human Services (HHS), listens during a House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., March 8, 2018.
Toya Sarno Jordan | Bloomberg via Getty Images
A federal vaccine scientist who was ousted from leading an agency dealing with the Covid-19 outbreak will soon file a whistleblower complaint alleging retaliation for his resistance to promoting a coronavirus drug treatment touted by President Donald Trump, his lawyers said Thursday.
Rick Bright’s attorney’s also accused the Trump administration of making “demonstrably false statements” about Bright to deflect attention from the reason for his removal earlier this week as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.
The lawyers, Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, said that they would file formal complaints with both the federal Office of Special Counsel and the inspector general of the Health and Human Services Department over Bright’s forced transfer from BARDA. HHS oversees BARDA.
The complaints will detail “the retaliatory treatment to which he was subjected by HHS political leadership after raising appropriate science-based concerns about White House pressure on treatment and vaccines related to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the lawyers said in a prepared statement.
“In our filing we will make clear that Dr. Bright was sidelined for one reason only — because he resisted efforts to provide unfettered access to potentially dangerous drugs, including chloroquine, a drug promoted by the Administration as a panacea, but which is untested and possibly deadly when used improperly,” the lawyers said.
“The facts and concerns raised by Dr. Bright are compelling and well-documented and soon they will be public.”
After Bright was removed from his post leading BARDA, he was given a job with fewer responsibilities at the National Institutes of Health, according to HHS.
The White House has declined to comment on Bright. HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his lawyers’ statement Thursday.
Bright, in an explosive statement Wednesday, tied his removal to his pushing back against widespread adoption of chloroquine and other anti-malarial drugs, which Trump has touted as potential lifesavers for coronavirus patients
Bright also said that he believed he was removed from his post because he insisted that “the billions of dollars allocated by Congress to address the Covid-19 pandemic” be invested “into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit.”
“I am speaking out because to combat this deadly virus, science — not politics or cronyism — has to lead the way,” Bright said in a statement.
Hours after his statement was released, HHS said on Wednesday night, “It was Dr. Bright who requested an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for donations of chloroquine that Bayer and Sandoz recently made to the Strategic National Stockpile for use on COVID-19 patients.”
“The EUA is what made the donated product available for use in combating COVID-19,” said HHS spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley.
But Bright’s lawyers on Thursday said, “The administration is now making demonstrably false statements about Dr. Bright, one of the nation’s leading vaccine, drug and diagnostic experts, to deflect attention from its retaliatory removal of him as the Director of” BARDA.
A source familiar with Bright’s situation told NBC News that the Trump administration had pushed for expanded access to the anti-malarial drugs nationwide for Covid-19 patients, with limited physician oversight.
The source told NBC News that, “Dr. Bright and his team were insisting upon a randomized controlled clinical study because there was insufficient information on the benefit and the potential harms of the drug to patients with COVID-19.”
“Dr. Bright and FDA colleagues were also concerned about the quality of chloroquine supplies produced and shipped in from facilities in India and Pakistan that were not approved by the FDA,” the source said.
The source added that implementing the emergency use authorization for the donated medications was a compromise between the two positions, and that Bright did so at the direction of the political leadership of HHS.
Earlier Thursday, a source close to Bright told NBC News that he was instructed to develop a national program geared to expanding access to the drug hydroxychloroquine after Larry Ellison, the billionaire chairman and co-founder of software giant Oracle, spoke with Trump about using the drug to treat Covid-19 patients. Ellison has raised campaign funds for Trump.
Bright’s lawyers, in their statement Thursday, called him “an exemplary public servant as demonstrated by the multiple excellent performance reviews he has received to date.”
“It remains Dr. Bright’s sincerest hope that once he makes these facts known he will be reinstated to his role as Director of BARDA and that he will be able to focus his efforts on stopping the pandemic without further political pressure or distractions.”
An analysis earlier this week found no benefit in using hydroxychloroquine to treat the coronavirus, and that there were more deaths among Covid-19 patients in veterans hospitals who received hydroxychloroquine compared with those who were given standard care.
On March 21, Trump had tweeted that “HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE & AZITHROMYCIN, taken together, have a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine.” Azithromycin is an antibiotic.
But on Tuesday, a panel of experts convened by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases recommended that doctors not use a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in treating Covid-19 “because of the potential for toxicities.”
The panel said the drugs should only be used in combination in clinical trials.
April 23, 2020 | 4: 50pm | Updated April 23, 2020 | 6: 06pm
The months-old girl tragically killed by coronavirus “went out looking like a princess” during her funeral — wearing the dress her newly minted firefighter dad had got her for his FDNY graduation ceremony that she didn’t live to see, the father told The Post in an emotional interview Thursday.
Jerel La Santa got the rose-gold dress with glittered roses for young Jay-Natalie La Santa to wear at his March 27 graduation, but the ceremony was delayed due to the pandemic COVID-19.
But he felt blessed that she was able to wear it at her funeral weeks later, after she was claimed by the coronavirus at nearly 5 months old on Monday.
“She went out looking like a princess,” the 30-year-old told The Post, fighting back tears in an emotional interview. “She had such a beautiful white little casket because we didn’t want her in a body bag.”
La Santa had just finished his first-ever shift as a New York City firefighter in The Bronx in late March when he found out his young daughter Jay-Natalie was in an emergency room.
“When I got to my car, there was a note from my mother — ya know I couldn’t have my phone on because I’m the new guy — to go to the ER, she’s there,” Jerel La Santa said Thursday, just three days after losing his daughter.
“That’s one way to start my career.”
Jay-Natalie, who had already struggled with a heart condition, was diagnosed with bronchitis and kept overnight because she had a fever, her 29-year-old mother Lindsey La Santa said.
Doctors tested young Jay-Natalie twice for COVID-19 — once on March 21 when she was admitted and again six days later — before realizing she had contracted the pandemic virus.
Lindsey La Santa said doctors were unsure if the child had it all along and the first test was a fluke — or if she picked it up in the ICU, which had been overflowing with adults and children.
By April 4, Jay-Natalie had to be intubated.
“She was so weak and lethargic,” Lindsey La Santa said. “From April to her last breath, she was just in a paralytic state.”
Only one parent was allowed at a time, so the mom and dad took 12-hour shifts at the hospital until April 20, when their infant’s vitals crash.
“Everything is just perfect right now,” Jerel told Lindsey over the phone just before things went south, according to the mom.
She recalled: “We were hopeful … her numbers were beautiful, her oxygen levels were good. Then 10 minutes later he called me to come … ‘she doesn’t have a pulse.’ ”
Doctors tried for more than 30 minutes to save the infant, but they couldn’t — and she died a week before she’d be 5-months-old.
Jerel was thankful on Thursday, though, saying, “they were lucky compared to other people” who lost loved ones during the outbreak.
Little Jay-Natalie’s godmother is a funeral director, so Jerel and Lindsey were able to bathe their baby and garb her in the dress that was previously put aside for Jerel’s graduation.
The godmother arranged for a private, informal ceremony at her funeral parlor — where the parents were able to say goodbye to Jay-Natalie since the official services set for May 2 will have to be closed-casket.
Jerel’s fellow firefighters from Engine 63, Ladder 39 and Battalion 15 showed up for support — even though the firefighters didn’t really know him because he only worked the one shift, the grieving dad said.
After the outpouring of support, the parents said they will live-stream the services.
“I like to think we were blessed,” he said of being able to hold an informal ceremony this week.
As of Thursday afternoon, a GoFundMe account had raised more than $30,000 for the parents to help pay for health care costs.
the coronavirus developed by Rutgers University could more than double the amount of daily testing in New Jersey, with results in less than 48 hours, providing hope for a rapid expansion of testing as part of a larger strategy to reopen the state, officials said Thursday.
The test, which uses saliva instead of a swab that is inserted deep into the nose or throat, will be administered to 10,000 people a day as soon as next week, said Brian Strom, chancellor Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. Currently, between 7,000 to 9,000 people in New Jersey are tested each day.
“Testing is the new linchpin to begin to return to normalcy,” Strom said during the state’s daily press briefing in Trenton, adding the daily capacity could be increased and equipment is on order.
“It is expandable in a modular fashion,” Strom said. “There is no limit. This is so new, we’re just launching.”
The development is significant since Gov. Phil Murphy has insisted a huge spike in testing is needed before the state can begin to roll back some of the unprecedented restrictions the governor put in place to mitigate the deadly pandemic.
“It’s definitely going to be a game-changer,” state epidemiologist Dr. Christina Tan said.
The saliva tests will initially be made available to the RWJBarnabas Health network, which has partnered with Rutgers University and includes Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick and University Hospital in Newark. Strom listed several locations where the tests are being deployed including walk-up testing facilities.
In addition, all staff members at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick will be tested, Strom said.
The tests were initially piloted at a Middlesex County coronavirus drive-thru facility on Kilmer Road in Edison, for county residents and first responders.
Murphy said called the tests a “huge breakthrough coming from our very own flagship university.” He said the tests will be used on every resident at the state’s five development centers.
“These are among our most vulnerable residents,” the governor said.
CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage
Murphy on Thursday revealed another 307 people in New Jersey have died from COVID-19 and another 4,227 more tested positive. A total of at least 5,368 people have died in New Jersey, which has at least 99,989 cases.
Health officials have said New Jersey could need to administer 20,000 to 30,000 tests a day to appropriately get a handle on the outbreak and reopen the state, dwarfing the 7,000 to 9,000 currently being administered in the state.
Murphy said he plans to unveil a “broad blueprint” on Monday on how the state will eventually reopen. The unveiling was originally slated for the end of this week, but he said a couple more days were needed to finish the report.
Murphy insisted Thursday that before the state can reopen there needs to be “sufficient scale and rapid return testing, contact tracing and then a plan for self-isolation and quarantine.”
“We are working as fast as we can on all of the above,” he added.
The new COVID-19 test developed at Rutgers got emergency approval by the Food and Drug Administration and has already been used as of last week.
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