Nearly 1,000 U.S. Immigration Detention Center Employees Test Positive For Coronavirus | HuffPost

More than 930 employees of private contractors running U.S. immigration detention centers have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to congressional testimony given by company executives on Monday.

The heads of four companies — CoreCivic, The GEO Group, Management & Training Corp and LaSalle Corrections — that detain immigrants on contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), reported the infections among employees in response to questions from lawmakers.

ICE has reported 45 cases of COVID-19 among its direct staff at detention facilities. Most of the employees at the privately run centers, however, work for private contractors and are not included in ICE’s count.

 

Source: Nearly 1,000 U.S. Immigration Detention Center Employees Test Positive For Coronavirus | HuffPost

Republican Gov Debunks Right-Wing Coronavirus Theory In Stirring Call For Masks | HuffPost – Mississippi

“I’ve listened to some people argue that the rapid spread of cases is a good thing, and we need to reach herd immunity in Mississippi and elsewhere to survive,” he wrote. “I’m not a health care expert by any means, but I am a math guy.”

Then, Reeves crunched the numbers. He noted that experts say herd immunity kicks in when 70 to 80 percent of the population has been infected, but started his hypothetical experiment from an optimistic scenario in which herd immunity took effect at 40 percent

Reeves said the state had been seeing 700 to 900 new infections a day, with more than 1,000 new cases on its worst day. That had already led to a hospital system “stressed to the point of pain” and on the verge of being overwhelmed.

“To get to 40% infections, we’d need 3,187 new cases every day for a full year from today,” he said. “We would need to TRIPLE our worst day ― every day ― for a year.”

Unless you’re willing to go without hospitals after a car wreck or heart attack, we need a different approach. Right now, despite mixed messages at the beginning, it seems like masks are the best bet. They’re a hell of a lot better than widespread shut downs. Please wear one!

Source: Republican Gov Debunks Right-Wing Coronavirus Theory In Stirring Call For Masks | HuffPost

Drug That Calms ‘Cytokine Storm’ Associated with 45% Lower Risk of Dying among COVID-19 Patients on Ventilators

Critically ill COVID-19 patients who received a single dose of a drug that calms an overreacting immune system were 45% less likely to die overall, and more likely to be out of the hospital or off a ventilator one month after treatment, compared with those who didn’t receive the drug, according to a new study by a team from the University of Michigan.

The lower risk of death in patients who received intravenous tocilizumab happened despite the fact that they also had twice the risk of developing an additional infection, on top of the novel coronavirus.

 

Source: Drug That Calms ‘Cytokine Storm’ Associated with 45% Lower Risk of Dying among COVID-19 Patients on Ventilators

Scientists know coronavirus came from bats, not a lab — here’s how

Decades of research shows that a robust national public-health system could save billions of dollars annually by reducing the burden of preventable illnesses and keeping the population healthier over all. But like most public-health departments across the country, Harris County’s was grossly underfunded. Shah likes to think of his fellow public-health practitioners as the offensive line of a football team whose fans know only the quarterback: clinical medicine. Except that when a football team has a great season, the owners continue to invest in the offensive line, recognizing that it is crucial to the quarterback’s success. “In public health we do the opposite,” he told me recently. “When tuberculosis rates decline or tobacco use goes down, we cut those programs.”

Source: Scientists know coronavirus came from bats, not a lab — here’s how

Why We’re Losing the Battle With Covid-19 – The New York Times

Decades of research shows that a robust national public-health system could save billions of dollars annually by reducing the burden of preventable illnesses and keeping the population healthier over all. But like most public-health departments across the country, Harris County’s was grossly underfunded. Shah likes to think of his fellow public-health practitioners as the offensive line of a football team whose fans know only the quarterback: clinical medicine. Except that when a football team has a great season, the owners continue to invest in the offensive line, recognizing that it is crucial to the quarterback’s success. “In public health we do the opposite,” he told me recently. “When tuberculosis rates decline or tobacco use goes down, we cut those programs.”

Boris Johnson’s mandatory mask policy has riled the Tory old guard | Katy Balls

An edict seen by some as un-Conservative is exposing divisions over the prime minister’s cautious approach to the pandemic

In the fortnight before the UK went into lockdown, Boris Johnson appeared in a video chat with Dr Jenny Harries to answer a series of questions about coronavirus. The deputy chief medical officer went over the regular symptoms, the low risk of large gatherings and the cons of face masks for all. She told a nodding prime minister that masks should only be worn if a medical professional tells you to, otherwise you could contaminate the mask and transfer the virus: “It’s really not a good idea and it doesn’t help.”

Fast forward four months and that advice – along with several other parts of their conversation – has gone out of the window. The government has announced that face coverings will soon become compulsory in shops and supermarkets. Following in the footsteps of Scotland, and after a weekend of mixed messages from ministers, the new rule will come into effect on Friday 24 July, with a £100 fine for anyone caught not wearing one.

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Indian IT hub Bangalore locks down again

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BANGALORE, INDIA (AFP) – India’s IT hub Bangalore will go back into lockdown on Tuesday (July 14) as the number of coronavirus cases in the country surged towards a million, with about 500 people dying daily.

After imposing one of the world’s strictest lockdowns in late March, India has been steadily easing rules to lessen the huge economic impact.

But infections have continued to soar, passing 900,000 on Monday with almost 24,000 deaths, according to Health Ministry figures that many experts say underplay the severity of the situation.

Mumbai and the capital New Delhi have been the worst hit so far but the southern city of Bangalore, home to more than 13 million people, has emerged as a new hotspot.

A seven-day lockdown in the city is set to begin at 8pm (1430 GMT), the government announced earlier. Transport will be banned except for emergencies and only shops selling essential items allowed to open.

Firms in Bangalore’s lifeblood IT sector handling the back-office operations of global corporations can operate, but with only 50 per cent of staff allowed on premises at any one time.

A new lockdown has also been imposed in the western city of Pune, which on Monday reported a record 1,333 new infections, taking the total to 40,000 with 23 deaths.

Other states, including Uttar Pradesh – India’s most populous with 200 million inhabitants – Tamil Nadu and Assam have also introduced new restrictions.

Kerala in the south, which earlier won plaudits for its handling of the pandemic, has also implemented tight controls in around a dozen areas, including state capital Thiruvananthapuram, until July 23.

The state has seen cases shoot up to over 8,000 following the return of people from Gulf countries, where Keralites make up a substantial proportion of foreign workers.

Kerala’s communist-led government last week extended until July 2021 rules on the wearing of masks, social distancing and limiting numbers of people at weddings and funerals.

In a glimmer of hope, Delhi, which apart from several “containment zones” has seen activity return to normal, on Monday reported 1,246 new infections – the lowest in 35 days.

The crowded megacity’s government, which has struggled with overflowing hospitals and morgues, has put on hold plans to turn sports stadiums into coronavirus care centres.

“If a successful battle against coronavirus has been fought anywhere in the world, it is in India,” Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday, saying the country was in a “good position”.

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Third of Bangladesh underwater as monsoon drenches region

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SUNAMGANJ, BANGLADESH (AFP) – Almost four million people have been hit by monsoon floods in South Asia, officials said Tuesday (July 14), with a third of Bangladesh already underwater from some of the heaviest rains in a decade.

The monsoon – which usually falls from June to September – is crucial to the economy of the Indian sub-continent, but also causes widespread death and destruction across the region each year.

“This is going to be the worst flood in a decade,” Bangladesh’s Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre chief Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan told AFP.

The heavy rains have swollen two main Himalayan river systems – the Brahmaputra and the Ganges – that flow through India and Bangladesh.

Mr Bhuiyan said about a third of flood-prone Bangladesh – a delta-nation crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers – was underwater, and at least 1.5 million people were affected, with village homes and roads flooded.

In north-central Bangladesh, the Brahmaputra river was almost 40cm higher than normal and threatening to burst its banks, district administrator Farook Ahmed told AFP.

Most villagers were trying to stay near their flood-damaged homes, but some 15,000 had fled severely affected areas, officials said.

With a 10-day forecast pointing to rising waters, Mr Bhuiyan said if more rivers burst their banks some 40 per cent of the nation could be flooded “in a worst-case scenario”.

In Assam, north-east India, more than 2.1 million people have been affected since mid-May.

At least 50 people have died so far – 12 in the past week as floodwaters surged – with tens of thousands of mostly rural residents evacuated to relief camps, officials said.

Emergency services personnel wore head-to-toe bright-orange suits to protect themselves from the floods and coronavirus – which has infected almost 17,000 people in Assam – as they used boats to reach stranded villagers.

“We have two challenges here, one is Covid-19 and another is (the) flood,” the head of a local rescue team, Mr Abhijeet Kumar Verma, told AFP.

In Nepal, at least 50 people have died in landslides and floods triggered by the monsoon rains, with homes swept away and roads and bridges damaged.

“We are distributing food and relief goods from helicopters to about 300 displaced families after the roads were blocked by floods and landslides,” district official Gyan Nath Dahal told AFP.

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Texas prisons’ coronavirus outbreaks continue with thousands infected | The Texas Tribune

Two Texas prisons each have more than 670 inmates with active coronavirus infections, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the highest counts seen at any state lockup since the pandemic began.

As of Monday, 672 men incarcerated at the Stiles Unit near Beaumont had active infections — a quarter of the lockup’s population, according to the most recent figures. At the massive Coffield Unit in East Texas, 753 inmates recently tested positive — 19% of prisoners there, according to TDCJ data.

Aside from Stiles, three other state-run prisons and jails had at least 25% of their inmates with active coronavirus infections Monday. Dominguez State Jail in San Antonio had 472 inmates with the virus. The Daniel Unit in Snyder and the Hamilton Unit in Bryan each had about 250 cases.

 

Source: Texas prisons’ coronavirus outbreaks continue with thousands infected | The Texas Tribune