May 1, 2020
The WHO extended its declaration of a global health emergency today. The move comes after their original decision to announce a “public health emergency of international concern” on January 30. More than 3.2 million around the world have been sickened by the virus and nearly a quarter of a million have died. There has been a rapid rise in new cases in Africa and South America but the growth rate of the virus has appeared to slow in many other countries in Asia and Europe
Remdesivir gets emergency FDA authorization to treat coronavirus patients — it is the first drug shown to help fight Covid-19. Preliminary results from a government-sponsored study showed that remdesivir shortened the time to recovery by 31%, or about 4 days on average, for hospitalized Covid-19 patients
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a national initiative to speed research into how the virus was spreading around the country, bringing together 75 public health, academic, and commercial institutions studying its genome. As the virus replicates, tiny mutations accumulate in its genetic code and those differences help scientists trace patterns of transmission and investigate outbreaks. They also provide an understanding of how the virus is evolving, which can affect the accuracy of diagnostic tests and the effectiveness of treatments and vaccines
As patients with Covid-19 filled hospitals around the country, routine treatments like kidney dialysis became scarce, placing virus patients with kidney disease at an even higher risk of dying. Kidney specialists estimate that 20 – 40% of ICU patients with coronavirus suffered kidney failure and needed emergency dialysis. In some hospitals in New York City, demand for dialysis rose threefold during the crisis
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin urged private schools with large endowments to return federal stimulus loans they received from a program intended for small businesses hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Many prominent prep schools have applied for the loans and several have returned the funds because of their other resources, but others said they needed the money
US stocks fell as investors reacted from earnings reports by Apple and Amazon that underscored the virus’ effect on big business. The S&P 500 was down nearly 2 percent in early trading, dragged lower by shares of tech companies
New York City’s subway system — one of the few in the world that runs 24 hours a day, will shut down overnight starting next week to provide more time for disinfection
State leaders around the country are warning that the federal coronavirus response is critically weakening Medicaid, the healthcare insurance safety net program for the poor. Together with the related children’s Health Insurance Program, this provides coverage to more than 70 million Americans, including nearly half of the nation’s children. State Medicaid directors said that more than 60% of mental health providers have already been forced to close 1 or more programs while coronavirus funding is directed to larger medical systems that serve higher income patients with Medicare or private health insurance
Employees at some of the country’s largest companies plan to staged a strike to protest the lack of protections and benefits frontline workers have been provided. Amazon, Whole Foods, Instacart, Shipt, and Target employees walked off the job or staged “sick outs” and are encouraged customers to boycott those businesses. Also, various May Day worker protests were reported around the country
As unemployment soars nationwide, tenants rights groups and community nonprofits created a social media and online video effort (#CancelRent) to persuade the government to halt rent and mortgage payments — without back payments accruing — for as long as the economy is battered by Covid-19. But landlords say they are also struggling and say that withholding rent would create consequences including leaving property owners without the means to pay mortgages and property taxes or to maintain buildings
Hundreds of high school seniors around the country have created yearbook accounts on Instagram to celebrate their classmates’ achievements and share memories. The pages are assembled from student submissions sent to the account administrators by direct message: portraits, post-grad plans, quotes. Classmates comment on each post as a kind of signature. The pages also serve as a place for underclassmen to bid the senior class farewell
El Segundo-based Mattel is introducing a collection of action figures that celebrate front-line workers including doctors, nurses, and grocery-store employees
Some Orange County leaders expressed frustration with Governor Newsom’s order closing the county’s beaches, overriding local rules that made them some of the only areas open to visitors in the state. The city of Huntington Beach voted to take legal action in an attempt to block the governor’s order
For LA County, an additional 1,065 positive cases were reported and an additional 62 deaths from Covid-19. This brings the totals up to 24,215 cases / 1,172 deaths. 182 cases were among the homeless and currently, investigations are being conducted at 15 shelters. For pregnant women, 106 positive cases have been reported and 27 live births (out of 28) so far have been reported and none of the babies have tested positive and Dr. Ferrer said that at this point, there is no evidence that the virus can be passed from the mother to the baby. Regarding institutional settings, 316 facilities are currently being reported to have at least 1 positive case, 5,658 positive cases reported, and 564 deaths reported in these settings, which represents 48% of all deaths in LA County. Over 152,000 people in the county have been tested and 14% have been found positive for Covid-19. There is also an updated CDC directive regarding self isolation if you are positive for Covid-19: you must isolate for 10 days (increased from 7 day), with 72 hours minimum after symptoms have subsided. City breakouts: City of LA 11,553; Long Beach 667; Carson 245; El Segundo 27; Gardena 158; Hawthorne 194; Hermosa Beach 23; Inglewood 335; Lawndale 59; Lomita 34; Manhattan Beach 66; PV Estates 13; Rancho PV 60; Redondo Beach 107; Rolling Hills 2; Rolling Hills Estates 13; Torrance 270
Compiled by Charlene Nishimura
Media Sources: Los Angeles Times; New York Times; Washington Post; Forbes Magazine; Business Insider; CBS Morning News; CNN; KTLA; ABC World News Tonight; Spectrum News 1; The Hill.com; WebMD; AP, Politico, Newsweek, daily televised briefings from the White House, Governor Newsom, LA County Health Department, Mayor Garcetti; City of Torrance press releases; Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce press releases
