Texas Becomes Fourth State With 10K COVID Deaths
(Austin, TX) — Texas is now the fourth state to lose more than 10-thousand lives to coronavirus. More than 200 new deaths have been reported almost daily in the last few weeks, along with up to eight thousand new cases. But those numbers are likely higher. The Department of Health Services uncovered thousands of unreported infections as far back as March. Data investigators are now trying to figure out why the positivity rate has spiked to record levels this month.
Dr. Birx: School Reopenings Should be ‘Tailored to Each and Every Community’
(Little Rock, AR) — White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, says school re-opening procedures should be “tailored to each and every community.” Speaking in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dr. Birx said safety should come first and parents in every district should being given the option of virtual education. She said she wished the U.S. lockdown back in March and April looked like that of Italy, but she added that “Americans don’t react well to that kind of prohibition.” She stressed that behavioral change is important, beginning with wearing masks and limiting capacity at restaurants and bars.
Plague Case Confirmed In South Lake Tahoe
(South Lake Tahoe, CA) — Health officials are confirming a case of plague in South Lake Tahoe. It’s the first case in California in five years. El Dorado County officials announced yesterday that a local resident tested positive. Plague bacteria are often transmitted by fleas that have acquired it from infected squirrels, chipmunks and wild rodents. Dogs and cats may also carry plague-infected fleas.
Nursing Home Virus Cases Surge
(Undated) — Coronavirus cases in U.S. nursing homes have hit a new weekly high. A report from the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living found more than 97-hundred cases in the week of July 26th. Deaths were about 17-hundred, a jump of more than 20 percent over the previous week. The most nursing home deaths in one week were three-thousand-130 in late May.
Cuomo Addresses COVID During Dem Convention
(Undated) — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says his state climbed an impossible mountain and is now on the other side of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Cuomo addressed the Democratic National Convention and said the Trump administration has offered a dysfunctional and incompetent response to the virus. Cuomo argued the U.S. is still unprepared, six months into the outbreak. He called on more Americans to wear facemasks and practice safe social distancing. Cuomo also accused President Trump of provoking divisiveness in the U.S.
UNC Chapel Hill Moving to Online Only After COVID Outbreak
(Chapel Hill, NC) — One of the first major universities in America to reopen to students is reversing course and going to online only. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has four clusters of coronavirus identified on campus. Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House Coronavirus Task Force says the problem is not just classes, but socialization, as friends and families holding big parties can cause outbreaks. The situation could serve as an example to other schools as they attempt to reopen.
New Mexico’s Rate Of Alcohol Deaths Highest In Country
(Albuquerque, NM) — New Mexico has the highest alcohol-related death rate in the country. The finding comes from a new CDC study covering a four-year period ending in 2015. The study shows that New Mexico’s alcohol death rate for the period was 52-point-three per 100-thousand people. The U.S. average was 27-point-four. Kathy Kunkel, New Mexico’s Secretary of Health, says the battle is very serious now due to the stress-related increase in alcohol consumption because of the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.