Coronavirus updates More than 6,600 Americans have died from the virus
A Long Island, N.Y., supermarket amid the coronavirus epidemic. (Reuters)

Govt. document: Virus may cause some food shortages

The pandemic is straining every aspect of the food supply chain, from the people who raise and grow what we eat to the people who deliver it to our supermarkets.   Workers need PPE »

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  • Paris Hilton Once Owned One of the Coolest Supercars Ever. Now It’s Up for Sale.

    With low miles and high street cred, the former reality star's rare Lexus LFA is now available through an Ohio dealership.

    Robb Report

  • 'Ventilators' donated by Elon Musk can't be used on coronavirus patients, health officials say

    Elon Musk's ventilator giveaway may do more harm than good.After weeks of brushing off the COVID-19 pandemic as "dumb," the billionaire Tesla founder earlier this week announced he had 1,000 "FDA-approved ventilators" and ended up donating 40 to New York City's hospital system. Except the devices Musk gave away aren't powerful enough to use in the ICU, and health officials have actually warned against using them on COVID-19 patients because they could spread the virus further.What Musk purchased and gave to New York's hospitals were BiPAP machines made by ResMed, a photo shared by the hospital system reveals. ResMed CEO Mick Farrell later confirmed Musk's purchase of 1,000 5-year-old "bi-level, non-invasive ventilators" known as BiPAPs to CNBC, and said it was "fantastic" that Tesla could transport ResMed's product like it did.But hospitals are far more desperate for ventilators more invasive than BiPAP and CPAP machines, which are usually used to treat sleep apnea — many doctors don't even call them "ventilators," the Los Angeles Times' Russ Mitchell reports. In fact, CPAP machines may have only helped spread COVID-19 through the nursing home outside Seattle that was the center of the U.S.'s initial coronavirus outbreak, NPR reports. These machines can "possibly increase the spread of infectious disease by aerosolizing the virus," NPR writes. Health officials in King County, Washington, have since warned against using CPAP machines on coronavirus patients, as did the American Society of Anesthesiologists back in February.What would actually help, Farrell added to CNBC, is if Musk's Tesla could produce and donate lithium ion batteries — ResMed can use them to make invasive ventilators that hospitals actually need.More stories from theweek.com Social distancing is going to get darker 5 brutally funny cartoons about Trump's TV ratings boast Jared Kushner suggests voters 'think about who will be a competent manager during the time of crisis'

    The Week

  • Fewer than half of Americans believe their daily routine will return to normal by June, as fears over coronavirus rise: POLL

    Fewer than half of Americans believe their regular daily routine will return to normal by June 1 amid sharply rising concerns over contracting the novel coronavirus according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll released Friday. In the new poll, just over nine in 10 Americans now say that the outbreak has disrupted their daily routine, showing the reach of the pandemic's impact.

    Good Morning America

  • 'It's unfathomable': Fitness companies describe how coronavirus derailed the booming industry

    Boutique fitness studios and fitness franchises across the U.S. are among the industries feeling the financial blow from the coronavirus.

    Yahoo Finance

  • The No. 1 way to prevent coronavirus isn't wearing a face mask

    Coronavirus masks are expensive, they only last a few hours — and they may not even help.

    CBS News

  • Daniel Radcliffe is quarantining with a 3,200-piece Jurassic Park Lego set that can keep kids occupied for days

    We found this one and four other epic LEGO sets that will give boredom the boot.

    Yahoo Lifestyle

  • Doctor Drops Some Coronavirus Truth Bombs On Fox News, Lights Up Twitter

    Dr. Rishi Desai's blunt segment earned him some new fans on social media.

    HuffPost

  • Virginia Bus Driver Who Ranted About Coughing in Public Dies of COVID-19

    A bus driver who posted an emotional video after a passenger coughed on him has died from coronavirus. On March 21, Jason Hargrove posted a Facebook Live video in which he explained that a female passenger had just boarded his bus in Detroit and then coughed near him. Four days later, he tested positive for the coronavirus. On April 1, less than two weeks after he posted the video in which he said he “felt violated” by the person’s actions, he passed away due to the coronavirus.

    Inside Edition CBS

  • Beyond fever and cough: Coronavirus symptoms take new shape

    Some of the first warning signs can include extreme fatigue, weakness and chills. But other symptoms often follow.

    NBC News

  • Kylie Jenner Says She Would Rather Have a 'Silent' Sexual Partner Than One with a 'Weird' Accent

    "If he didn't have an accent and then when we're intimate, he starts talking in a weird accent ... absolutely not," Kylie Jenner said

    People

  • Elon Musk says the hospitals he sent medical machines to all confirmed they were 'critical' and traditional ventilators are arriving shortly

    BiPAP machines were recently allowed by the FDA as a substitute for ventilators, but some medical experts warn they could spread the coronavirus.

    Business Insider

  • Protect your face during coronavirus with these easy DIY face covers

    As Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti Wednesday recommended citizens to wear face coverings while in public amid coronavirus, medical professionals are weighing in about the benefits of wearing them. “At this point, there really seems to be no question that everybody should be wearing a mask to protect themselves and more importantly, to protect their community,” Jeremy Howard, research scientist at the University of San Francisco said, “when you’re talking bits of saliva come out of your mouth, you don’t even see them.” While the use of masks becomes the new normal and medical professionals like Howard recommend to use them while in public, the reality is that it is almost impossible to find just one to purchase.

    Good Morning America

  • View Photos of the 2021 Rivian R1S (14 photos)

    View Photos of the 2021 Rivian R1SFrom Car and Driver

    Car and Driver

  • The Secret Service signed an 'emergency order' this week — for 30 golf carts

    The Secret Service signed an "emergency order" this week to rent $45,000-worth of golf carts in the town of Sterling, Virginia, where President Trump has a golf course, The Washington Post reports. The 30-cart fleet, which the Secret Service is renting through the end of September, was described as being necessary in order to protect a "dignitary," although the president was not explicitly referenced by name.Surprisingly, while many nonessential businesses around the country have closed to prevent the spread of disease, Virginia's Trump National Golf Club remains open. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) allowed for golf courses to continue to operate so long as golfers keep a six-foot distance from others. The Virginia club is a favorite of the president's; he has visited it 76 times since taking office, most recently in October.The Post notes that Trump has not played golf since March 8, when there were still only about 500 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and 21 deaths, most of which were concentrated at a nursing home in Washington State. In a statement, Secret Service spokesperson Cathy Milhoan clarified that the "emergency" contract referred specifically to "a need for expedited handling of the procurement due to deadlines within the agency's business processes." Read more at The Washington Post.More stories from theweek.com Social distancing is going to get darker 5 brutally funny cartoons about Trump's TV ratings boast Jared Kushner suggests voters 'think about who will be a competent manager during the time of crisis'

    The Week

  • This Man Makes The World's Best Face Masks. And Right Now, They're Like Gold Dust

    How the surgical mask became a symbol of modern anxiety, privilege, greed and selflessness

    Esquire

  • I'm Small-Chested and Super Specific When It Comes to Bras—Here Are My Favorites

    Hint: The key words are underwire and unlined.

    Who What Wear

  • China Wants to Use the Coronavirus to Take Over the World

    What started as a catastrophe for China is shaping up to be a moment of strategic opportunity, a rare turning point in the flow of history. Suddenly, the protests in Hong Kong, carrying a mortal threat to political stability in the mainland, became a physical impossibility. More important, the pandemic set in motion a global competition, to contain the virus, for which China and the Chinese Communist Party seem uniquely prepared.As the virus spread to the whole world, it became apparent that Western societies — Beijing’s true rivals — did not have the ability to quickly organize every citizen around a single goal. As opposed to China, which remains to a large extent a revolutionary society, their political systems were built for normal times. Chinese society is a mobilized army, which can quickly drop everything else and march in one direction.Mao once said, “Everything under heaven is in utter chaos, the situation is excellent.” And so it seems at present, as seen from Beijing. Chinese diplomats stationed all over the world spend their time raising the stakes to a dangerous level. Following instructions from the very top, they have taken to the media to issue a challenge to America, to point out its failure, and to compare the chaos in American cities and hospitals with what they see as a singular success in stopping the epidemic in China.Several commentators have suggested that China may be winning the coronavirus battle by stepping forward in providing medical help to affected countries, mostly in Europe, at a time when the United States is consumed with its own difficulties. This misses the point.The cases have been multiplying where the medical equipment provided by Chinese companies and even the Chinese state turned out to be faulty, provoking justified ire in, for example, Spain, the Netherlands, and Turkey. Moreover, medical help is a normal occurrence in a crisis. China has done nothing different, except perhaps in the clumsy way it publicizes those efforts.Forget about “mask diplomacy.” It is no more than a distraction. There are other ways for China to use the coronavirus pandemic to upturn the existing global order. I see three main levers.The first one is the direct comparison between the situation in China and elsewhere. The numbers of cases and fatalities provided by Chinese authorities almost certainly misrepresent the real figures by more than an order of magnitude, but the fact remains that a semblance of normalcy was achieved in a small period of time. If the United States fails to do the same, its prestige will suffer a severe blow. People all over the world will quickly change their perceptions about relative power and capacity.The second lever resides with industrial value chains. Last month General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler closed all their automotive production plants across the United States and Canada. Other sectors have followed. In the meantime, China contained the worst of the pandemic to one province, allowing economic activity to quickly resume elsewhere. The most recent data show renewed activity in the flow of goods across the country, as well as at ports worldwide that do business with China. If the freeze in Europe and America continues for much longer, Chinese companies will be able to dramatically expand market share and replace Western-led value chains. Just yesterday Chinese authorities announced that manufacturing activity expanded in March, defying expectations of a contraction. In February the official Purchasing Managers’ Index hit a record low of 35.7. It bounced back to 52.0 in March. Prepare for a worldwide wave of Chinese acquisitions at knockdown prices.Finally, in a more extreme scenario, important countries could experience the kind of economic shock that leads to widespread social and political collapse. At that point, China would have a unique opportunity to step in, provide aid, and refashion these countries in its image. It would look like a repeat of the Marshall Plan and the beginning of the American world order after the ravages of World War II. Indonesia, South Asia, and even Russia might be of special interest in such a scenario.We knew that a generalized race or competition between alternative geopolitical models had started, but it was never clear what the background for such a competition would be. If the clash took place within the existing global trade and financial system, which was of course built according to Western rules and principles, the United States was confident the battle could be decisively won. But what if it took place on neutral ground? What if it took place in a kind of neutral landscape, a state of nature with few or no rules, against a chaotic and quickly evolving background? The outcome would become considerably more uncertain.To put it more bluntly: There was always an argument that the existing world order cannot change because only a momentous war has done that in the past and world wars have become impossible. But in pandemics — and soon in climate change — we may have found two functional equivalents of war.

    National Review

  • These Coronavirus Exposures Might Be the Most Dangerous

    Li Wenliang, the doctor in China who raised early awareness of the new coronavirus, died of the virus in February at 34. His death was shocking not only because of his role in publicizing the developing epidemic but also -- given that young people do not have a high risk of dying from Covid-19 -- because of his age.Is it possible that Dr. Li died because as a doctor who spent a lot of time around severely ill Covid-19 patients, he was infected with such a high dose? After all, though he was one of the first young health care workers to die after being exposed up close and frequently to the virus, he was unfortunately not the last.The importance of viral dose is being overlooked in discussions of the coronavirus. As with any other poison, viruses are usually more dangerous in larger amounts. Small initial exposures tend to lead to mild or asymptomatic infections, while larger doses can be lethal.From a policy perspective, we need to consider that not all exposures to the coronavirus may be the same. Stepping into an office building that once had someone with the coronavirus in it is not as dangerous as sitting next to that infected person for an hourlong train commute.This may seem obvious, but many people are not making this distinction. We need to focus more on preventing high-dose infection.Both small and large amounts of virus can replicate within our cells and cause severe disease in vulnerable individuals such as the immunocompromised. In healthy people, however, immune systems respond as soon as they sense a virus growing inside. Recovery depends on which wins the race: viral spread or immune activation.Virus experts know that viral dose affects illness severity. In the lab, mice receiving a low dose of virus clear it and recover, while the same virus at a higher dose kills them. Dose sensitivity has been observed for every common acute viral infection that has been studied in lab animals, including coronaviruses.Humans also exhibit sensitivity to viral dose. Volunteers have allowed themselves to be exposed to low or high doses of relatively benign viruses causing colds or diarrhea. Those receiving the low doses have rarely developed visible signs of infection, while high doses have typically led to infections and more severe symptoms.It would be unethical to experimentally manipulate viral dose in humans for a pathogen as serious as the coronavirus, but there is evidence that dose also matters for the human coronavirus. During the 2003 SARS coronavirus outbreak in Hong Kong, for instance, one patient infected many others living in the same complex of apartment buildings, resulting in 19 dead. The spread of infection is thought to have been caused by airborne viral particles that were blown throughout the complex from the initial patient's apartment unit. As a result of greater viral exposure, neighbors who lived in the same building were not only more frequently infected but also more likely to die. By contrast, more distant neighbors, even when infected, suffered less.Low-dose infections can even engender immunity, protecting against high-dose exposures in the future. Before the invention of vaccines, doctors often intentionally infected healthy individuals with fluid from smallpox pustules. The resulting low-dose infections were unpleasant but generally survivable, and they prevented worse incidents of disease when those individuals were later exposed to smallpox in uncontrolled amounts.Despite the evidence for the importance of viral dose, many of the epidemiological models being used to inform policy during this pandemic ignore it. This is a mistake.People should take particular care against high-dose exposures, which are most likely to occur in close in-person interactions -- such as coffee meetings, crowded bars and quiet time in a room with Grandma -- and from touching our faces after getting substantial amounts of virus on our hands. In-person interactions are more dangerous in enclosed spaces and at short distances, with dose escalating with exposure time. For transient interactions that violate the rule of maintaining six feet between you and others, such as paying a cashier at the grocery store, keep them brief -- aim for "within six feet, only six seconds."Because dose matters, medical personnel face an extreme risk, since they deal with the sickest, highest-viral-load patients. We must prioritize protective gear for them.For everyone else, the importance of social distancing, mask-wearing and good hygiene is only greater, since these practices not only decrease infectious spread but also tend to decrease dose and thus the lethalness of infections that do occur. While preventing viral spread is a societal good, avoiding high-dose infections is a personal imperative, even for young healthy people.At the same time, we need to avoid a panicked overreaction to low-dose exposures. Clothing and food packaging that have been exposed to someone with the virus seem to present a low risk. Healthy people who are together in the grocery store or workplace experience a tolerable risk -- so long as they take precautions like wearing surgical masks and spacing themselves out.A complete lockdown of society is the most effective way to stop spread of the virus, but it is costly both economically and psychologically. When society eventually reopens, risk-reduction measures like maintaining personal space and practicing proper hand-washing will be essential to reducing high-dose infections. High-risk sites for high-dose exposure, like stadiums and convention venues, should remain shuttered. Risky but essential services like public transportation should be allowed to operate -- but people must follow safety measures such as wearing masks, maintaining physical spacing and never commuting with a fever.Now is the time to stay home. But hopefully this time will be brief. When we do begin to leave our homes again, let's do it wisely, in light of the importance of viral dose.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company

    The New York Times

  • 'This is so irresponsible': 'Covidiot' blogger faces backlash for leaving New York City after COVID-19 diagnosis

    "Are you out of touch with reality?"

    Yahoo Canada Style

  • Stacey Abrams trends after Georgia governor said he didn't know about asymptomatic spread

    “This is a criminal level of negligence,” said a Twitter user over Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s comments.

    NBC News