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| Coronavirus Briefing: What Happened Today | Coronavirus Briefing: What Happened Today |
| (2 days later) | |
| This is the Coronavirus Briefing, an informed guide to the global outbreak. Sign up here to get the briefing by email. | This is the Coronavirus Briefing, an informed guide to the global outbreak. Sign up here to get the briefing by email. |
| The border between the U.S. and Canada will remain closed until July 21, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced today. | The border between the U.S. and Canada will remain closed until July 21, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced today. |
| U.S. retail sales rebounded in May as stores and restaurants reopened, rising 17.7 percent from the previous month. | U.S. retail sales rebounded in May as stores and restaurants reopened, rising 17.7 percent from the previous month. |
| The San Francisco Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, two of the top American opera companies, are canceling their fall seasons. | The San Francisco Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, two of the top American opera companies, are canceling their fall seasons. |
| Get the latest updates here, plus maps and a tracker for U.S. metro areas. | Get the latest updates here, plus maps and a tracker for U.S. metro areas. |
| Six months into the outbreak, we have what might be the best news yet on a treatment: Scientists in Britain say they have identified the first drug shown to reduce coronavirus-related deaths. | Six months into the outbreak, we have what might be the best news yet on a treatment: Scientists in Britain say they have identified the first drug shown to reduce coronavirus-related deaths. |
| The steroid dexamethasone, a decades-old anti-inflammatory drug, appears to help patients with dire cases of Covid-19. Experts believe the drug is effective in calming the overactive immune response known as a cytokine storm. | The steroid dexamethasone, a decades-old anti-inflammatory drug, appears to help patients with dire cases of Covid-19. Experts believe the drug is effective in calming the overactive immune response known as a cytokine storm. |
| For patients on ventilators, it reduced the death rate by a third, the scientists said; for those on oxygen, death rates dropped by a fifth. The drug showed no benefit for patients who did not need respiratory support. | For patients on ventilators, it reduced the death rate by a third, the scientists said; for those on oxygen, death rates dropped by a fifth. The drug showed no benefit for patients who did not need respiratory support. |
| Another benefit of the drug is that it’s very cheap — around $8 per treatment, according to one of the leaders of the trial. It’s also widely available and already sitting on pharmacy shelves around the world. | Another benefit of the drug is that it’s very cheap — around $8 per treatment, according to one of the leaders of the trial. It’s also widely available and already sitting on pharmacy shelves around the world. |
| Even so, some doctors are urging caution, noting that in the rush to find treatments some high-profile findings have later been retracted or walked back. | Even so, some doctors are urging caution, noting that in the rush to find treatments some high-profile findings have later been retracted or walked back. |
| When care isn’t cheap. Most coronavirus tests in the U.S. cost $100, but some providers have taken advantage of an unregulated health care system and insurers’ obligation to cover testing, charging thousands of dollars. | When care isn’t cheap. Most coronavirus tests in the U.S. cost $100, but some providers have taken advantage of an unregulated health care system and insurers’ obligation to cover testing, charging thousands of dollars. |
| The list of once-innocuous things that we now fear — hugs, handshakes, surfaces — just got longer. A new study found that flushing a toilet releases a plume of aerosols that can linger long enough to be inhaled by the next person, or land elsewhere in the bathroom. | The list of once-innocuous things that we now fear — hugs, handshakes, surfaces — just got longer. A new study found that flushing a toilet releases a plume of aerosols that can linger long enough to be inhaled by the next person, or land elsewhere in the bathroom. |
| Using simulations, the researchers showed that the clouds can send coronavirus particles up to three feet high. A single flush produces about 6,000 tiny droplets and even tinier aerosols. | Using simulations, the researchers showed that the clouds can send coronavirus particles up to three feet high. A single flush produces about 6,000 tiny droplets and even tinier aerosols. |
| Previous research has found viable particles in infected people’s feces, and while the virus prefers the lungs and respiratory tract, it has also been known to settle in the small intestine. The degree to which toilets contribute to transmission remains unknown, but you can take precautions: When possible, close the lid before you flush, and wear a mask in public or shared bathrooms. | Previous research has found viable particles in infected people’s feces, and while the virus prefers the lungs and respiratory tract, it has also been known to settle in the small intestine. The degree to which toilets contribute to transmission remains unknown, but you can take precautions: When possible, close the lid before you flush, and wear a mask in public or shared bathrooms. |
| Getting creative: To avoid the need for public restrooms, some people have turned to portable solutions. Makers of niche products like the Feminal, a urinal for women, have seen sales surge during the pandemic, NPR reports. | Getting creative: To avoid the need for public restrooms, some people have turned to portable solutions. Makers of niche products like the Feminal, a urinal for women, have seen sales surge during the pandemic, NPR reports. |
| Local officials are pleading with President Trump to cancel his campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla., on Saturday or move it outdoors, warning that the event — slated for a 20,000-person indoor arena — is likely to worsen an already troubling spike in coronavirus infections. | Local officials are pleading with President Trump to cancel his campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla., on Saturday or move it outdoors, warning that the event — slated for a 20,000-person indoor arena — is likely to worsen an already troubling spike in coronavirus infections. |
| Mr. Trump said that criticism was the result of the news media “trying to Covid Shame us on our big Rallies,” and his campaign said it would take body temperatures and distribute masks and hand sanitizer to attendees. Still, epidemiologists are envisioning a worst-case scenario for viral spread. | Mr. Trump said that criticism was the result of the news media “trying to Covid Shame us on our big Rallies,” and his campaign said it would take body temperatures and distribute masks and hand sanitizer to attendees. Still, epidemiologists are envisioning a worst-case scenario for viral spread. |
| Updated August 4, 2020 | |
| “That virus, I guarantee you, will be present at the event — someone will bring it,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “The Covid virus knows no political affiliation. What it does love is large groups, indoors, close to each other for prolonged periods of time chanting and yelling.” | “That virus, I guarantee you, will be present at the event — someone will bring it,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “The Covid virus knows no political affiliation. What it does love is large groups, indoors, close to each other for prolonged periods of time chanting and yelling.” |
| Hong Kong will relax some social-distancing restrictions on Thursday, allowing wedding banquets and live music to resume. | Hong Kong will relax some social-distancing restrictions on Thursday, allowing wedding banquets and live music to resume. |
| In the United States, parts of the Midwest and Northeast continue to see a decrease in cases, leading many officials there to forge ahead with reopenings, including outdoor sports sites in New Jersey and bars in Chicago. | In the United States, parts of the Midwest and Northeast continue to see a decrease in cases, leading many officials there to forge ahead with reopenings, including outdoor sports sites in New Jersey and bars in Chicago. |
| In New York State, hospital visits will resume with restrictions, three months after being suspended. | In New York State, hospital visits will resume with restrictions, three months after being suspended. |
| Here’s a roundup of restrictions in all 50 states. | Here’s a roundup of restrictions in all 50 states. |
| In April, as meatpacking companies, saying U.S. supplies were dwindling, were lobbying to keep their doors open — despite outbreaks sickening thousands of workers — a record amount of pork was exported to China. | In April, as meatpacking companies, saying U.S. supplies were dwindling, were lobbying to keep their doors open — despite outbreaks sickening thousands of workers — a record amount of pork was exported to China. |
| The death toll from the virus in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in the U.S. has topped 50,000, The Wall Street Journal reports. | The death toll from the virus in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in the U.S. has topped 50,000, The Wall Street Journal reports. |
| Still, the five largest known coronavirus clusters in the United States are not in nursing homes or meat packing plants — they are all inside prisons and jails. | Still, the five largest known coronavirus clusters in the United States are not in nursing homes or meat packing plants — they are all inside prisons and jails. |
| A neighborhood in the Bronx helped keep New York City running during the height of the pandemic thanks to its high concentration of essential workers. | A neighborhood in the Bronx helped keep New York City running during the height of the pandemic thanks to its high concentration of essential workers. |
| The virus was slow to start in many African countries, but the number of confirmed cases on the continent is rising fast. | The virus was slow to start in many African countries, but the number of confirmed cases on the continent is rising fast. |
| Sixteen friends tested positive for Covid-19 after a night out at a bar in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., WJXT reports. Florida reported 2,783 new virus cases on Tuesday, another new daily high. | Sixteen friends tested positive for Covid-19 after a night out at a bar in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., WJXT reports. Florida reported 2,783 new virus cases on Tuesday, another new daily high. |
| Since hospitals and retirement homes are not allowing delivery of floral bouquets to patients and residents, I have joined a local effort by artists to paint floral bouquets. Each time I paint a bouquet, it makes me happy. I hope it will do the same for the recipients. | Since hospitals and retirement homes are not allowing delivery of floral bouquets to patients and residents, I have joined a local effort by artists to paint floral bouquets. Each time I paint a bouquet, it makes me happy. I hope it will do the same for the recipients. |
| — Melinda Silver, Santa Fe, N.M. | — Melinda Silver, Santa Fe, N.M. |
| Let us know how you’re dealing with the outbreak. Send us a response here, and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter. | Let us know how you’re dealing with the outbreak. Send us a response here, and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter. |
| Sign up here to get the briefing by email. | Sign up here to get the briefing by email. |
| Tom Wright-Piersanti contributed to today’s newsletter. | Tom Wright-Piersanti contributed to today’s newsletter. |