Connect with us

Government

Florida Reports Another Record Jump In New Cases As Global COVID-19 Count Nears 8 Million: Live Updates

Florida Reports Another Record Jump In New Cases As Global COVID-19 Count Nears 8 Million: Live Updates

Published

4 years ago

on

Florida Reports Another Record Jump In New Cases As Global COVID-19 Count Nears 8 Million: Live Updates Tyler Durden Sat, 06/13/2020 - 11:42

Summary:

  • Florida reports record jump for third day in a row
  • 23 states across US seeing case numbers rise
  • Latin America and US vie for global coronavirus leader
  • Beijing reimposes lockdowns in some areas after cluster discovered
  • Russia reported another 8k+ jump in cases
  • EU signs vaccine deal with AstraZeneca
  • Gilead strikes deal to distribute remdesivir in Europe

* * *

Update (1130ET): Minutes after publishing this post, we're already adding the day's first withering stat: Florida has reported yet another record jump in newly confirmed cases, reporting a 3.6% jump statewide, compared with the 7-day average of 2.1%.

For those who haven't been closely following the situation, this is the third day in a row that Florida has reported a record jump in cases, and Saturday's number (remember, they're reported with a 24 hour delay, so these are cases confirmed on Friday), at 2,581, blows away the last daily record (which, again, was reported yesterday).

Saturday marks the 10th day out of the past 11 that Florida has confirmed more than 1,000 new cases, a phenomenon blamed on the loosening social distancing restrictions across the state. Most of the cases are coming from the southern part of the state, with Miami-Dade County being one of the standouts.

Florida now has 73,552 confirmed cases and 2,925 deaths linked to COVID-19, according to the latest numbers released by the health department on Saturday. In addition, the state confirmed 38 coronavirus-related deaths over the past day, including 13 in Miami-Dade County, seven in Broward and nine in Palm Beach County, Local10 reports.

Source: NYTimes

Gov Ron DeSantis said that even though there are more cases, fewer people are going to the hospital, including in Miami-Dade. Asked Thursday if the state’s reopening plans could be rolled back because of the numbers, the governor pointed to the increase of testing and blamed it for the majority of the jump.

"As you’re testing more you’re going to find more cases and most of the cases are subclinical cases," DeSantis said. "And we expected that from the beginning. We’re doing 30,000-plus tests a day in terms of results on average...As people have been getting back to work, I think employers have told folks you should get tested, so we’re starting to see at our test sites a much younger demographic. So you do see 98% test negative but you do see some cases...usually no clinical consequence."

Statewide, Florida reports having completed over 1.3 million tests for COVID-19, with 5.4% coming back positive.

* * *

No matter how many times Larry Kudlow insists the US won't resort to another round of lockdowns under any circumstances, Investors will inevitably pay close attention to the infection and hospitalization numbers out of the country's second class of 'hot spots': California, Florida, Texas, Arkansas and the roughly 20 other states where infection rates are climbing.

Granted, some of these states are arguing that the increase in testing rates is the primary driver of the higher confirmed infection numbers In Portland, where Gov. Kate Brown - who once threatened to take away a small business owner's children if they dared defy the lockdown - has announced a one-week "pause" in the state's reopening plans...even as she insists the increase in testing is mostly responsible for the spike.

At this point, the inconsistent messaging coming from Democratic governors supports critics allegations that decisions to reimpose lockdowns, or delay the process of reopening, appear to be politically motivated. Though in Houston, it appears officials' concerns about the city being "on the precipice" of another serious outbreak are (somewhat) justified.

As "CBS This Morning" reported Saturday, "there are disturbing signs that the grip of the deadly coronavirus pandemic is tightening in some parts of the US as at least a dozen states see an uptick in COVID-19 cases. New virus hotspots are emerging in the South and Southwest, and some states like Texas, Arkansas, Arizona and California are in some areas seeing their largest daily infection numbers yet. Florida and Arkansas have been criticized for reopening some beaches and parks, and failing to enforce social distancing.

Some experts argue that this is the consequence of reopening too early; others dismiss the numbers as merely a short-term rebound that we had already anticipated; and finally, others argue that it's more complicated than all that, given that Georgia, one of the first states to start aggressively reopening, hasn't reported the increase seen among several of its neighboring states.

Yesterday, the CDC raised the prospect of another round of lockdowns, even as the White House has categorically dismissed the possibility; meanwhile, a new forecast is projecting 140,000 deaths in the US from COVID-19 by July 4. That’s compared with roughly 112,000 as of Saturday.

The warning isn't exactly a surprise. During the past week, South Carolina and Florida showed their highest daily number of coronavirus cases yet. Arizona's average daily cases nearly tripled over the past two weeks. And Texas saw four of its worst days so far in terms of hospitalizations.

In Houston, there is a warning: "People should not take things lightly. Or assume that the virus is under control," said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

Texas businesses and restaurants – among the first to reopen – could become the first to shut down again.

"I want the reopening to be successful. I want the economy to be resilient," said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. "But I'm growing increasingly concerned that we may be approaching the precipice - the precipice of a disaster."

Arizona is reporting more than 1,000 new cases per day, up from fewer than 400 a day in mid-May when stay-at-home orders started to ease.

"I think the question of did we open too soon is a valid one," said Frank Lovecchio, an emergency medicine doctor in the Phoenix area. He reports seeing a surge of severe cases requiring intubation.

On Friday, North Carolina Gov Roy Cooper implored his citizens to try and help stop the spread after the state reported a record number of new cases in a single day...

"The numbers show that the disease is spreading and that more people need hospital care. This has to be taken seriously," he said. Utah and Oregon have delayed their reopenings by a week...

"As I've said a zillion times: the virus makes the timelines. We don't make the timelines," Gov Brown said.

...while in New Jersey, Governors Murphy and Cuomo are celebrating the fact that their states have the lowest rate of spread in the country.

According to the NYT, 23 states are still seeing daily case reports climb.

Worldwide, the number of coronavirus cases reported daily has once again started to climb as Russia and Latin American have emerged as the newest hotspots as the outbreaks in the Europe and at least part of the US have subsided. At last count, the world had nearly 7.7 million confirmed cases, and 426,000 confirmed kills.

Source: BBG

In Europe, EU bureaucrats are already taking steps to secure supplies of still-untested vaccine prototypes as the global scramble to find a vaccine takes on an added urgency as thousands of politicians - including President Trump - find themselves making lofty promises about vaccine supplies that they might not be able to keep.

Bloomberg reports that the EU has signed a deal with AstraZeneca for the pharma giant to supply Europe with as many as 400 million doses of Oxford University’s experimental vaccine candidate - the subject of one of the most closely watched trials in the world - at no profit.

How generous!

In other vaccine news, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories entered into a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Gilead to manufacture and sell its star experimental COVID-19 treatment remdesivir in 127 countries, including India, even though the verdict on its effectiveness remains elusive.

News of the deal comes as Germany reports 572 new coronavirus cases Saturday morning, its highest daily tally in weeks, bringing the German total to 187,263. That compares with 169 the previous day and almost 7,000 at the peak of the pandemic in late March.

Meanwhile, Russia reported 8,706 new confirmed infections, +1.7%, according to data from the government’s virus response center. Deaths rose by 114 to 6,829. Moscow accounted for 17% of new cases, and 34% of all new cases were asymptomatic. The country has more than 520k confirmed cases.

As we reported earlier, Beijing is locking down a large swath of the southwestern part of the capital city after an outbreak reportedly stemming from a major seafood market and wholesaler.

Read More

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Government

Low Iron Levels In Blood Could Trigger Long COVID: Study

Low Iron Levels In Blood Could Trigger Long COVID: Study

Authored by Amie Dahnke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

People with inadequate…

Published

8 hours ago

on

March 9, 2024

By

Low Iron Levels In Blood Could Trigger Long COVID: Study

Authored by Amie Dahnke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

People with inadequate iron levels in their blood due to a COVID-19 infection could be at greater risk of long COVID.

(Shutterstock)

A new study indicates that problems with iron levels in the bloodstream likely trigger chronic inflammation and other conditions associated with the post-COVID phenomenon. The findings, published on March 1 in Nature Immunology, could offer new ways to treat or prevent the condition.

Long COVID Patients Have Low Iron Levels

Researchers at the University of Cambridge pinpointed low iron as a potential link to long-COVID symptoms thanks to a study they initiated shortly after the start of the pandemic. They recruited people who tested positive for the virus to provide blood samples for analysis over a year, which allowed the researchers to look for post-infection changes in the blood. The researchers looked at 214 samples and found that 45 percent of patients reported symptoms of long COVID that lasted between three and 10 months.

In analyzing the blood samples, the research team noticed that people experiencing long COVID had low iron levels, contributing to anemia and low red blood cell production, just two weeks after they were diagnosed with COVID-19. This was true for patients regardless of age, sex, or the initial severity of their infection.

According to one of the study co-authors, the removal of iron from the bloodstream is a natural process and defense mechanism of the body.

But it can jeopardize a person’s recovery.

“When the body has an infection, it responds by removing iron from the bloodstream. This protects us from potentially lethal bacteria that capture the iron in the bloodstream and grow rapidly. It’s an evolutionary response that redistributes iron in the body, and the blood plasma becomes an iron desert,” University of Oxford professor Hal Drakesmith said in a press release. “However, if this goes on for a long time, there is less iron for red blood cells, so oxygen is transported less efficiently affecting metabolism and energy production, and for white blood cells, which need iron to work properly. The protective mechanism ends up becoming a problem.”

The research team believes that consistently low iron levels could explain why individuals with long COVID continue to experience fatigue and difficulty exercising. As such, the researchers suggested iron supplementation to help regulate and prevent the often debilitating symptoms associated with long COVID.

“It isn’t necessarily the case that individuals don’t have enough iron in their body, it’s just that it’s trapped in the wrong place,” Aimee Hanson, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge who worked on the study, said in the press release. “What we need is a way to remobilize the iron and pull it back into the bloodstream, where it becomes more useful to the red blood cells.”

The research team pointed out that iron supplementation isn’t always straightforward. Achieving the right level of iron varies from person to person. Too much iron can cause stomach issues, ranging from constipation, nausea, and abdominal pain to gastritis and gastric lesions.

1 in 5 Still Affected by Long COVID

COVID-19 has affected nearly 40 percent of Americans, with one in five of those still suffering from symptoms of long COVID, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Long COVID is marked by health issues that continue at least four weeks after an individual was initially diagnosed with COVID-19. Symptoms can last for days, weeks, months, or years and may include fatigue, cough or chest pain, headache, brain fog, depression or anxiety, digestive issues, and joint or muscle pain.

Tyler Durden Sat, 03/09/2024 - 12:50

Read More

Continue Reading

Government

Walmart joins Costco in sharing key pricing news

The massive retailers have both shared information that some retailers keep very close to the vest.

Published

11 hours ago

on

March 9, 2024

By

As we head toward a presidential election, the presumed candidates for both parties will look for issues that rally undecided voters. 

The economy will be a key issue, with Democrats pointing to job creation and lowering prices while Republicans will cite the layoffs at Big Tech companies, high housing prices, and of course, sticky inflation.

The covid pandemic created a perfect storm for inflation and higher prices. It became harder to get many items because people getting sick slowed down, or even stopped, production at some factories.

Related: Popular mall retailer shuts down abruptly after bankruptcy filing

It was also a period where demand increased while shipping, trucking and delivery systems were all strained or thrown out of whack. The combination led to product shortages and higher prices.

You might have gone to the grocery store and not been able to buy your favorite paper towel brand or find toilet paper at all. That happened partly because of the supply chain and partly due to increased demand, but at the end of the day, it led to higher prices, which some consumers blamed on President Joe Biden's administration.

Biden, of course, was blamed for the price increases, but as inflation has dropped and grocery prices have fallen, few companies have been up front about it. That's probably not a political choice in most cases. Instead, some companies have chosen to lower prices more slowly than they raised them.

However, two major retailers, Walmart (WMT) and Costco, have been very honest about inflation. Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon's most recent comments validate what Biden's administration has been saying about the state of the economy. And they contrast with the economic picture being painted by Republicans who support their presumptive nominee, Donald Trump.

Walmart has seen inflation drop in many key areas.

Image source: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Walmart sees lower prices

McMillon does not talk about lower prices to make a political statement. He's communicating with customers and potential customers through the analysts who cover the company's quarterly-earnings calls.

During Walmart's fiscal-fourth-quarter-earnings call, McMillon was clear that prices are going down.

"I'm excited about the omnichannel net promoter score trends the team is driving. Across countries, we continue to see a customer that's resilient but looking for value. As always, we're working hard to deliver that for them, including through our rollbacks on food pricing in Walmart U.S. Those were up significantly in Q4 versus last year, following a big increase in Q3," he said.

He was specific about where the chain has seen prices go down.

"Our general merchandise prices are lower than a year ago and even two years ago in some categories, which means our customers are finding value in areas like apparel and hard lines," he said. "In food, prices are lower than a year ago in places like eggs, apples, and deli snacks, but higher in other places like asparagus and blackberries."

McMillon said that in other areas prices were still up but have been falling.

"Dry grocery and consumables categories like paper goods and cleaning supplies are up mid-single digits versus last year and high teens versus two years ago. Private-brand penetration is up in many of the countries where we operate, including the United States," he said.

Costco sees almost no inflation impact

McMillon avoided the word inflation in his comments. Costco  (COST)  Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti, who steps down on March 15, has been very transparent on the topic.

The CFO commented on inflation during his company's fiscal-first-quarter-earnings call.

"Most recently, in the last fourth-quarter discussion, we had estimated that year-over-year inflation was in the 1% to 2% range. Our estimate for the quarter just ended, that inflation was in the 0% to 1% range," he said.

Galanti made clear that inflation (and even deflation) varied by category.

"A bigger deflation in some big and bulky items like furniture sets due to lower freight costs year over year, as well as on things like domestics, bulky lower-priced items, again, where the freight cost is significant. Some deflationary items were as much as 20% to 30% and, again, mostly freight-related," he added.

Read More

Continue Reading

Government

Walmart has really good news for shoppers (and Joe Biden)

The giant retailer joins Costco in making a statement that has political overtones, even if that’s not the intent.

Published

12 hours ago

on

March 9, 2024

By

As we head toward a presidential election, the presumed candidates for both parties will look for issues that rally undecided voters. 

The economy will be a key issue, with Democrats pointing to job creation and lowering prices while Republicans will cite the layoffs at Big Tech companies, high housing prices, and of course, sticky inflation.

The covid pandemic created a perfect storm for inflation and higher prices. It became harder to get many items because people getting sick slowed down, or even stopped, production at some factories.

Related: Popular mall retailer shuts down abruptly after bankruptcy filing

It was also a period where demand increased while shipping, trucking and delivery systems were all strained or thrown out of whack. The combination led to product shortages and higher prices.

You might have gone to the grocery store and not been able to buy your favorite paper towel brand or find toilet paper at all. That happened partly because of the supply chain and partly due to increased demand, but at the end of the day, it led to higher prices, which some consumers blamed on President Joe Biden's administration.

Biden, of course, was blamed for the price increases, but as inflation has dropped and grocery prices have fallen, few companies have been up front about it. That's probably not a political choice in most cases. Instead, some companies have chosen to lower prices more slowly than they raised them.

However, two major retailers, Walmart (WMT) and Costco, have been very honest about inflation. Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon's most recent comments validate what Biden's administration has been saying about the state of the economy. And they contrast with the economic picture being painted by Republicans who support their presumptive nominee, Donald Trump.

Walmart has seen inflation drop in many key areas.

Image source: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Walmart sees lower prices

McMillon does not talk about lower prices to make a political statement. He's communicating with customers and potential customers through the analysts who cover the company's quarterly-earnings calls.

During Walmart's fiscal-fourth-quarter-earnings call, McMillon was clear that prices are going down.

"I'm excited about the omnichannel net promoter score trends the team is driving. Across countries, we continue to see a customer that's resilient but looking for value. As always, we're working hard to deliver that for them, including through our rollbacks on food pricing in Walmart U.S. Those were up significantly in Q4 versus last year, following a big increase in Q3," he said.

He was specific about where the chain has seen prices go down.

"Our general merchandise prices are lower than a year ago and even two years ago in some categories, which means our customers are finding value in areas like apparel and hard lines," he said. "In food, prices are lower than a year ago in places like eggs, apples, and deli snacks, but higher in other places like asparagus and blackberries."

McMillon said that in other areas prices were still up but have been falling.

"Dry grocery and consumables categories like paper goods and cleaning supplies are up mid-single digits versus last year and high teens versus two years ago. Private-brand penetration is up in many of the countries where we operate, including the United States," he said.

Costco sees almost no inflation impact

McMillon avoided the word inflation in his comments. Costco  (COST)  Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti, who steps down on March 15, has been very transparent on the topic.

The CFO commented on inflation during his company's fiscal-first-quarter-earnings call.

"Most recently, in the last fourth-quarter discussion, we had estimated that year-over-year inflation was in the 1% to 2% range. Our estimate for the quarter just ended, that inflation was in the 0% to 1% range," he said.

Galanti made clear that inflation (and even deflation) varied by category.

"A bigger deflation in some big and bulky items like furniture sets due to lower freight costs year over year, as well as on things like domestics, bulky lower-priced items, again, where the freight cost is significant. Some deflationary items were as much as 20% to 30% and, again, mostly freight-related," he added.

Read More

Continue Reading

Trending