April 21, 2020 4:08 am
(AP) – More deaths, no benefit from malaria drug in VA virus study. A malaria drug widely touted by President Donald Trump for treating the new coronavirus showed no benefit in a large new study. Researchers reported there were more than twice as many deaths among patients getting hydroxychloroquine than usual care. The analysis involved 368 men with COVID-19 in U.S. veterans hospitals. Although it was not a rigorous experiment, it is the biggest report of results so far for the drug, with or without the antibiotic azithromycin, against the coronavirus. The analysis was posted on an online site for researchers, but has not been reviewed by other scientists.
April 21, 2020 4:05 am
An Associated Press investigation has found that a relief fund Congress created to protect small businesses amid the coronavirus crisis has helped companies with thousands of employees, past regulatory run-ins and risks of financial failure even before the economy got walloped. The Paycheck Protection Program was supposed to help small businesses, which typically have less access to quick cash and credit. Its $349 billion in emergency loans are intended to keep workers on the job and bills paid on time. But the AP found 75 companies that collectively received $300 million were publicly traded, and some had market values well over $100 million.
April 21, 2020 2:43 am
The coronavirus pandemic has claimed another event – sort of. Betsy West, who serves as president of the Main Street Farmers Market Board of Directors says the market was initially set to open on Thursday, May 21st, but will instead be delayed until Thursday, June 18th. West says the market is actually deemed an essential business because it sells sustainable goods, but the board was in agreement to push the opening back a few weeks in hopes that life would be a little more normal. As it stands now, West says the market will look much different from what visitors are used to seeing. West says there will be only two entrances this year, a front and rear entrance and each will have a table lined with hand sanitizer. In addition, West says vendors will be set up using guideline set by the CDC on social distancing. There will be barrier tables and each vendor will be asked to wear a mask, and if they serve food, gloves as well. In addition, West says when the market launches, there will be no entertainment and no seating. She says they are encouraging everyone to visit the market, but they do not want to encourage people to gather and socialize as in the past years. West says this may change as the year goes on and life returns to more normal activities, but for now, they also discourage bringing children and pets as well.
April 20, 2020 5:42 pm
ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says some businesses ordered closed to mitigate coronavirus threats may begin reopening statewide Friday. The Republican governor announced Monday that gyms, hair salons, bowling alleys and others will have to follow strict social distancing and hygiene requirements to remain open to the public. Restaurants will be able to resume dine-in service on a limited basis and movie theaters will be allowed to reopen next Monday. Bars, nightclubs and performance venues will remain closed. Kemp said emergency room visits from people with flu-like symptoms are declining in Georgia, a sign that infections are down.
April 20, 2020 4:14 am
President Donald Trump says he will use the Defense Production Act to increase manufacturing of swabs used to test for the coronavirus. Many governors have for weeks urged the White House to further evoke federal powers to increase private industry’s production of medical supplies as health officials work to slow the spread of the virus. Trump has generally been reluctant to do so.
April 20, 2020 4:14 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea says it has zero coronavirus infections, but experts doubt it and say it’s likely the virus has already spread in the country. A former North Korean doctor and other defectors tell The Associated Press health workers didn’t have test kits when they dealt with past outbreaks and weren’t even asked to confirm or submit cases to the central government. Experts say the North’s response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is likely similar.
April 20, 2020 4:12 am
TORONTO (AP) – Police have fanned out across more than a dozen crime scenes after a rampage by a gunman disguised as a police officer left at least 18 dead and homes in smoldering ruins in rural communities across Nova Scotia. The weekend attack was the deadliest in Canadian history. Among the dead were a policewoman and the suspected shooter. Officials identified the suspect as 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, and say he drove a car made to look like a Royal Canadian Mounted Police cruiser. Authorities did not provide a motive for the killings, but say they believe he acted alone.
April 20, 2020 4:11 am
A flood of new research suggests that far more people have had the new coronavirus without any symptoms. That means the virus may turn out to be much less lethal than originally feared. But it also makes it tough to know who’s contagious because people who don’t feel sick can still spread the bug. New reports of silent infections have come from an aircraft carrier, pregnant women at a New York hospital, several European countries and a county in California. Experts say the numbers can’t be fully trusted because they’re based on flawed testing. But the results suggest that estimates of total infections are way off.
April 20, 2020 4:10 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A nursing home in an upscale section of New York City’s Brooklyn borough with 55 deaths blamed on the coronavirus has become another example of the struggle to control such outbreaks amid shortages of staff, protective equipment and testing. The CEO of the Cobble Hill Health Center says his facility quickly became overwhelmed after nearly a third of the staff went out sick and those left began wearing garbage bags because of a shortage of protective gear. He said the death toll was based on only the possibility of COVID-19 because not a single resident or staffer has been tested.
April 20, 2020 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration and Congress are working toward agreement on more than $450 billion to boost a small-business loan program that has run out of money. It would also include funds for hospitals and COVID-19 testing. The Senate met briefly Monday in a pro forma session, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell set up another such session for Tuesday and could act on the deal if an agreement is reached. The package is nearly double the $250 billion White House request of almost two weeks ago. It was originally designed as an interim step aimed at replenishing payroll subsidies for smaller businesses.
