Coronavirus USA news summary: 13 June
Coronavirus live USA: latest Covid-19 news - 13 June
US coronavirus latest: 13:30 PT on / 16:30 ET (22:30 CEST on Saturday 13 June)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 7,728,745 cases have been detected worldwide, with 428,056 deaths and 3,663,251 people now recovered.
In the USA, there have been 2,066,933 confirmed cases and 115,206 deaths with 547,386 people recovering from the virus.
Seattle coronavirus survivor gets $1.1m hospital bill
According to this report in The Seattle Times, 70-year-old Michael Flor, who was dubbed the "Miracle Child" after overcoming Covid-19 following a 62-day battle in intensive care, has been handed a bill for more than $1 million.
Biden rips into Republicans over HEROES Act
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Friday said Senate Republicans were “so damn stupid” for not passing House Democrats’ $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill.
“The Republican Senate need to do its job and pass the HEROES Act," Biden said on a call with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), as reported by The Hill.
Doctors to re-examine obesity issue in Covid-19 era
The coronavirus crisis in the US has thrown another issue into the spotlight: overweight people are at higher risk of severe illness and death and medical experts are recommending renewed efforts to tackle the problem, as reported by the WSJ.
Stimulus check: What is known so far about the second payment of $1,200?
Another round of stimulus checks?
Quick take. Dems are keen, Republicans not that keen, Trump isn't quite sure, but the more he struggles in the polls the more likely he is to push for them,
Government Covid-19 schemes compared
Initial responses to the coronavirus crisis were broadly similar across European countries, while the US took a somewhat different approach.
Miley Cyrus and Pedro Sanchez share views on Twitter
There was an interesting exchange of tweets between the internationally famous singer and Spanish PM over the subject of Covid-19 vaccines and the BLM campaign.
Pain in the back
Seems trivial in the face of a global pandemic, but these 'lockdown consequences' can be extremely difficult for people.
This article has some great advice:
Coronavirus: stimulus checks USA
Second Stimulus Check: when will I know what the payment date is?
Next round of stimulus check payments
Probably at the earliest first payments of any second round of stimulus checks would be the weekend of 22/23 August, but Republicans need to make moves.
Masks significantly reduce infection risk, likely preventing thousands of COVID-19 cases
The wearing of masks to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus in areas at the epicenter of the global pandemic may have prevented tens of thousands of infections, a new study suggests.
Mask-wearing is even more important for preventing the virus' spread and the sometimes deadly COVID-19 illness it causes than social distancing and stay-at-home orders, researchers said, in the study published in PNAS: The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.
Infection trends shifted dramatically when mask-wearing rules were implemented on April 6 in northern Italy and April 17 in New York City - at the time among the hardest hit areas of the world by the health crisis - the study found.
Popular blood pressure medicines do not put patients at greater COVID-19 risk, new study finds
New research offers reassuring evidence to hundreds of millions of people with high blood pressure that popular anti-hypertension drugs do not put them at greater risk from COVID-19 as some experts had feared.
Two blood pressure-lowering drug classes, called ACE inhibitors and ARBs, came under scrutiny after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in April that 72% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients 65 or older had hypertension.
ACE inhibitors and ARBs are thought to trigger activity along the same biological pathways used by the COVID-19 novel coronavirus to attack the lungs.
Researchers at Oxford University had recommended some patients stop the drugs until the risks were better known, while others argued patients should stay on the medications. An expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness in Baltimore described the debate as “one of the most important clinical questions.”
Seaworld Florida re-opens its doors
SeaWorld Orlando finally re-opened for business with social distancing and many Covid-19 precautional measures in place at the acquatic and marine zoological park, in Orlando, Florida.
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine appears to clear safety hurdle in mouse study
A series of studies in mice of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 lent some assurance that it may not increase the risk of more severe disease, and that one dose may provide protection against the novel coronavirus, according to preliminary data released on Friday.
Prior studies on a vaccine for SARS - a close cousin to the new virus that causes COVID-19 - suggests vaccines against this type of virus might have the unintended effect of causing more severe disease when the vaccinated person is later exposed to the pathogen, especially in individuals who do not produce an adequately strong immune response.
Scientists have seen this risk as a hurdle to clear before vaccines can be safely tested in thousands of healthy people.
While the data released by the U.S. National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) and Moderna offered some assurance, the studies do not fully answer the question.
"This is the barest beginning of preliminary information," said Dr. Gregory Poland, an immunologist and vaccine researcher at the Mayo Clinic who has seen the paper, which has yet to undergo peer-review.
Poland said the paper was incomplete, disorganized and the numbers of animals tested were small.
Fauci: Slight coronavirus spikes may get out of control amid U.S. reopening
The top U.S. infectious disease official on Friday cautioned that the "blips" of rising coronavirus hospitalizations being reported by some states could get out of control if robust contact tracing regimes are not put in place.
As restrictions on economic activity are lifted, the United States was bound to see increased infections, Anthony Fauci told CNN.
"But when you start seeing more hospitalizations, that's a sure fire sign that you're in a situation where you're going in the wrong direction," Fauci said.
So far, more than 114,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States. About half a dozen U.S. states are grappling with a rising number of coronavirus patients filling hospital beds.
Texas and North Carolina on Friday reported their highest hospitalization rates since the pandemic began. But officials in both states point out they also have among the lowest rates of deaths from COVID-19.
A mural of Spanish artist, Salvador Dali reflected in the window of B44 Catalan Bistro during San Francisco's first day of reopening for restaurants and outdoor dinning only in San Francisco, California, USA, 12 June 2020, after being closed for three months during San Francisco's stay-at-home order coronavirus pandemic.
During the first phase of reopening, the owner, Olivier Azancot of Cafe Bastille French Bistro, and sister restaurant, B44 Catalan Bistro combined the menus from both restaurants, and using the larger outdoor dinning space at B44. (EFE/EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO)
Popular blood pressure meds don't put patients at greater Covid-19 risk - new study
New research offers reassuring evidence to hundreds of millions of people with high blood pressure that popular anti-hypertension drugs do not put them at greater risk from Covid-19 as some experts had feared, Reuters report.
Two blood pressure-lowering drug classes, called ACE inhibitors and ARBs, came under scrutiny after the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported in April that 72% of hospitalised Covid-19 patients 65 or older had hypertension. ACE inhibitors and ARBs are thought to trigger activity along the same biological pathways used by the Covid-19 novel coronavirus to attack the lungs.
Researchers at Oxford University had recommended some patients stop the drugs until the risks were better known, while others argued patients should stay on the medications. An expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness in Baltimore described the debate as “one of the most important clinical questions.”
Stimulus check: what factors affect second bill approval?
Cost concerns and November reign
With some of the millions of payments still being dealt with from the first round, what are the main influencing factors to a second stimulus getting agreed.
Brazil can only see USA ahead
After overtaking the UK's death total from Covid-19, Brazil are in a worrying position.
CDC warns US over coronavirus
President Donald Trump has been talking for a while now like the concerns of the virus are in the past. Experts suggest a more cautious approach.
Stimulus check: how the goverment creates stimulus payment?
A look at the economics behind the stimulus checks.
You know a country is at a very strange point in its existence when wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of a fatal disease is a divisive topic.
US Coronavirus news: 12/13 June
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic as it affects the United States.
The number of cases and deaths continues to rise across the US and Friday saw another uptick in daily coronavirus cases in at least a dozen states.