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The U.S. has topped 77,000 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases in a 24-hour period according to a count from Reuters. The outbreak in the U.S. is spiraling out of control and heading quickly for the 100,000 plus totals Dr. Fauci warned about.
Multiple sources put the daily total for July 16th at well over 70,000. The Worldometers site has the U.S. total over 70,000 for the past couple days. The New York Times' count is slightly lower than Reuters at 75,600. Deaths are rising in the U.S. as well with three consecutive days of over 900 deaths including 1,002 deaths on July 15th.
The global death toll from Covid-19 is nearly 600,000 worldwide with around 250,000 new cases daily.
Some states are planning to open schools next month which is likely to greatly exacerbate the U.S. coronavirus problem. Only a return to a stay-at-home shutdown is likely to curb the spread in states like California, Texas and Florida, which are regularly seeing around 10,000 cases a day. The outbreak is also very bad in Arizona and Georgia.
An ABC News story says over a dozen states have recorded record hospitalizations from Covid-19 and some hospitals are out of ICU beds.
Researchers at the University of Bristol develop robot jaws to study the chewing of gum. The researchers want to help set a standard for testing drug release from chewing gum in vitro.
The researchers say the robot is capable of closely replicating the human chewing motion in a closed environment. It features artificial saliva.The researchers found the chewing robot demonstrated a similar release rate of xylitol as human participants. The greatest release of xylitol occurred during the first five minutes of chewing and after 20 minutes of chewing only a low amount of xylitol remained in the gum bolus, irrespective of the chewing method used.
The scientists say the chewing robot demonstrated a similar release rate of xylitol as human participants chewing gum. The study was reported in the IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.
Dr Kazem Alemzadeh, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, who led the research, says in a statement, "Bioengineering has been used to create an artificial oral environment that closely mimics that found in humans. Our research has shown the chewing robot gives pharmaceutical companies the opportunity to investigate medicated chewing gum, with reduced patient exposure and lower costs using this new method."
The Covid-19 coronavirus is spreading rapidly in the United States. Florida has become the latest epicenter for the virus. Florida reported 15,299 new Covid-19 cases today. This is a huge jump over the state's previous record of 11,434, which was set on July 4th.
The record cases come as Disney World is reopening its park. Part of the problem in Florida is that some residents refuse to wear masks. There have even been anti-mask protests in the state according to the New York Tiems.
Florida Rep. Donna Shalala told CNN, "It's out of control across the state because our governor won't even tell everybody to wear masks. At least in Miami-Dade county, everyone must wear a mask when they're outside. This is an American tragedy."
Deaths had fallen from the coronavirus peak earlier this year. However, they are a lagging indicator and are now starting to climb again. NBC News reports that Texas and Arizona have recently requested refrigerator trucks to store bodies.
A new book about frogfishes, Frogfishes: Biodiversity, Zoogeography, and Behavioral Ecology, has been published by Johns Hopkins University Press. The book is authored by Ted Pietsch, University of Washington professor emeritus of aquatic and fishery sciences.
Pietsch explains in a UW release that frogfishes are highly camouflaged and feed by micmicking a sponge or algae-covered rock. They wiggle a lure to attract prey.Pietsch also says, "This is a fish that 'walks' and 'hop'" across the sea bottom, and clambers about over rocks and coral like a four-legged terrestrial animal but, at the same time, can jet-propel itself through open water. Some lay their eggs encapsulated in a complex, floating, mucus mass, called an "egg raft"Â while some employ elaborate forms of parental care, carrying their eggs around until they hatch."
Here are some details about the book:- 500 color images
- a look at 5,000 preserved specimens
- an annotated synonymy for all extant taxa, as well as keys and tables to facilitate identification
- insights into frogfish feeding, locomotion, mimicry, and reproductive behavior
- tips for frogfish-seeking divers and aquarists that emphasize conservation
- description of recent scientific advanced, such as emerging DNA sequencing techniques
The book is available from John Hopkins University Press and Amazon.com.
Photo: Johns Hopkins University Press
Harvard researchers put an African grey parrot named Griffin up against children and adults in a version of the classic shell game. The memory game involved four little colored pom poms hidden under four cups.
Harvard researchers found that Griffin was able to match or beat his human competitors for up to three moves.
So how did the parrot fare? Griffin outperformed the 6- to 8-year-olds across all levels on average, and he performed either as well as or slightly better than the 21 Harvard undergraduates on 12 of the 14 of trial types.
The parrot vs human shell game experiment study was published in Scientific Reports. A Harvard release has additional information.
The U.S. continues to set record cases of coronavirus. The highest total yet was for July 10th with 63,200 cases nationwide. There are currently several major outbreaks of Covid-19 in the U.S.
The record case count comes from data compiled by John Hopkins University according to CNBC. The figures from Worldometer are slightly lower but still show over 61,000 cases a day for the past two days. Daily deaths are also starting to spike again after a drop in June. Deaths are considered a lagging indicator.
Three of the hardest hit states - California, Texas and Florida - accounted for about half of the cases. Previous hot spots like New York are way down from their peak. However, New York is still simmering with around 800 new cases daily.
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has warned that cases could soon reach 100,000 daily cases in the U.S.
If states open schools next month it is likely cases will spike even higher. Covid-19 has shown that it can spread very quickly. With millions of young students in classes they are likely to spread it to each other and then to their parents. Teachers would also be at high risk of contracting the virus.
This video discusses the 60,021 record set on July 9th which was broken the following day.
SlothBot is a robot that was inspired by the sloth, a slow moving endangered species. The SlothBot is also slow moving and was designed to be energy-efficient.
The robot is currently on display at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. It will be monitoring animals and plants in the garden from the trees above.
SlothBot was built by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Magnus Egerstedt, professor and Steve W. Chaddick School Chair in the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, says in a statement, "SlothBot embraces slowness as a design principle. That’s not how robots are typically designed today, but being slow and hyper-energy efficient will allow SlothBot to linger in the environment to observe things we can only see by being present continuously for months, or even years."
There are hundreds of elephants dying in Bostwana and experts are not yet sure why. A report on the deaths (PDF file) was submitted to the government of Botswana by Elephants Without Borders.
The New York Times reports that the elephant mass die-off has been estimated by fly overs. It is not believed to be poaching because the tusks are still on the dead elephants.
There is concern it could be anthrax or another disease.
Mark Hiley, the director of rescue operations at National Park Rescue, told the Times that elephant carcasses, soil and waterways will need to be studied to see what it is causing the deaths. Investigations are slowed by the coronavirus epidemic.
Florida continues to break records for the number of daily coronavirus cases. On Saturday, July 4, the state recorded 11,458 new cases. This is more cases than some countries have reported during the entire outbreak.
CBS News reports that Miami-Dade county has implemented a curfew that began over the holiday weekend. The curfew has residents in home by 10 p.m.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has so far refused calls to require masks statewide in Florida. He is also refusing to close things back down despite the rapid rise in cases.
Florida added over 10,000 new cases again on Sunday, July 5. The state has now recorded over 200,000 cases. Many of them have occurred in the past few weeks.
Massachusetts has set a new daily high for coronavirus deaths with 252 deaths in one day. The state's previous daily high was 221 deaths.
The Boston Herald says Massachusetts also reported 1,963 new cases.
Here are some more Covid-19 statistics for Massachusetts:
- Total Cases - 60,265
- Total Deaths - 3,405
- Current ICU Patients - 1,011
- Deaths in Long-Term Care Facilities - 1,982
Los Angeles County has recorded its highest one day death toll from the Covid-19 coronavirus. 81 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours. Los Angeles County also added 642 new cases.
Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health, says in a statement, "Today marks a very sad milestone for our County, we are reporting the highest number of COVID-19 deaths for any one day since the beginning of the pandemic, and our deepest condolences go out to each and every person grieving the loss of their loved ones. In this last week we have doubled the number of deaths that occurred among LA County residents. We are especially concerned about the overwhelming number of residents residing in our nursing homes who have passed away. I have requested additional support from our state and federal partners so we can work together to ensure that our nursing homes are as safe as possible for residents and employees. This includes asking for supplementary staffing and PPE, increased ability to test residents and employees, and improvements in infection control capacity at nursing homes."
@lapublichealth Announces 81 New Deaths Related to #COVID19 and 642 New Cases of Confirmed COVID-19 in Los Angeles County. 12,021 Positive Cases of COVID-19 Across All Areas of LA County and a Total of 576 Deaths. View https://t.co/q2DngChsCt for more. pic.twitter.com/1lYolKwobY
— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) April 18, 2020
The increase comes despite closings, restrictions and social distancing efforts in L.A. and California. The number of cases would have been much higher without these continued efforts to slow the spread.
Los Angeles County now has 12,021 cases and 576 deaths. You can find the latest information on lacounty.gov.
The death toll in New York City from the Covid-19 coronavirus has passed 10,000 after 3,700 at home deaths were added. These were deaths that happened at home and had never been included. 10,367 people have died in New York City from the virus through yesterday.
Hundreds of people in New York City have been dying from the coronavirus at home each day. These deaths were going uncounted because they did not occur at hospital and were not tested. However, it is clear they are due to the virus because at home deaths have climbed from around 20 per day in New York City to well over 200 a day during the outbreak.
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio's Press Secretary Freddi Goldstein told the New York Post, "We knew the number of lives lost would be greater than originally reported, but that doesn’t make it any less painful. We’re committed to being as transparent as possible with New Yorkers as we continue to fight our way through this."
There is hope that the deaths in New York may be at or near a peak because new cases appear to have leveled off. Governor Andrew Cuomo has also said that the rate of new hospitalizations from the coronavirus has been falling.
Even newborns get face shields at a hospital in Bangkok. The cute baby-sized face guards were made to protect newborn babies from the coronavirus. The video shows a baby wearing one of the face shields at the Param 9 Hospital in Bangkok. Thailand has over 2,500 active cases of the deadly virus.
The Covid-19 coronavirus killed 806 people in New York City yesterday. This is by far the highest one day total yet for New York City.
Gothamist and KTLA are among the news resources reporting the record high. At least 4,000 have died in New York City since the outbreak began.
We've updated our stats page with the evening data from NYC's Department of Health- they recorded 806 deaths in the city since last night's update, more than twice the highest number of any day so far. https://t.co/qUCtbPTWpc pic.twitter.com/PokkgBsSDH
— Gothamist (@Gothamist) April 8, 2020
New York City's grim coronavirus fatality totals are likely to climb higher in the coming days due to a combination of the peak hitting and the inclusion of people dying in their homes. Hundreds of people are reportedly not making it to the hospital and dying in their homes. Deaths at home in New York City have climbed from in the 20s per day (before the pandemic) to over 200 per day. These additional deaths have not been counted as coronavirus due to a lack of testing. Gothamist reports that these deaths will be reported in future totals. It is likely to add thousands of additional coronavirus deaths.
A 4-year-old Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York has tested positive for Covid-19 coronavirus. Three other tigers and three lions have also developed a dry cough. The lions and tigers are all expected to recover.
The announcement was made in a press release from the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo. The tiger's name is Nadia. The zoo says they tested Nadia "out of an abundance of caution and will ensure any knowledge we gain about COVID-19 will contribute to the world’s continuing understanding of this novel coronavirus."
The zoo says the big cats have also experienced some decrease in appetite.
Though they have experienced some decrease in appetite, the cats at the Bronx Zoo are otherwise doing well under veterinary care and are bright, alert, and interactive with their keepers. It is not known how this disease will develop in big cats since different species can react differently to novel infections, but we will continue to monitor them closely and anticipate full recoveries.There are other tigers, leopards and a puma at the zoo that have shown no signs of illness. The zoo says the person caring for the big cats was asymptomatically infected with Covid-19.
There have been other reports that cats can get the coronavirus but they don't seem to get as sick some humans - see Nature and CNN.
There has been a growing interest in having people wear masks in the U.S. to slow the spread of the virus. There are reports the virus spread easily just from infected people talking and that it can be spread by asymptomatic people. Many experts say wearing masks could be another step to help slow the spread of the virus.
Los Angeles Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti starting recommending yesterday that citizens wear masks. He says use "cloth face coverings" but not surgical and N95 masks which are needed for first responders and medical workers.
Early data suggests many who are infected are not symptomatic, which is why we are recommending you use cloth face coverings plus physical distancing for essential activities.
— MayorOfLA (@MayorOfLA) April 2, 2020
Do not use surgical and N95 masks, which are reserved for first responders and medical workers.
There were rumors last week that the CDC would start recommending all citizens wear masks but so far the CDC only recommends wearing one if you are sick or caring for a person who is sick.
Garcetti put on a black face mask during the press conference. He says, "This will be the look."
The Institute for Health Metrics (IHME) recently launched a website called IHME Covid-19 Projections. The website provides projections for coronavirus Covid-19 deaths and excess demand for hospital services. This includes the number of hospital beds, ICU beds and ventilators that will be needed.
The IHME projections for each state include the peak demand, peak deaths and forecast curve. The IHME state pages also show what current goverment-mandated social distancing orders are in place.
The charts for many states show that hospital resources will be over capacity. For example, the projection for New York shows a bed shortage of over 60,000 beds.
The forecasting model is updated every morning at 6 a.m. The IHME says data for its models comes from " local and national governments, hospital networks like the University of Washington, the American Hospital Association, the World Health Organization, and a range of other sources."
Spain has recorded its fifth day in a row with 800 or more Covid-19 coronavirus deaths. The virus started hitting Spain hard around the middle of March.
The Worldometer Spain tracker has over 9,000 deaths in Spain from the virus and over 102,000 cases. The tracker shows the cases and deaths fairly level over the past several days. However, it is not clear Spain has reached a peak because they could be hitting a testing limit.
BBC News says the death toll could even be greater because some people are dying in their homes and some people have not been tested. BBC News says the death toll could be several thousands of higher. On the plus side, there are likely to be many milder and asymptomatic cases that have not been recorded.
Washington D.C. has joined Virginia, Maryland and many other states and cities with a stay-at-home order to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. WTOP reports that residents are directed to stay in their homes except to get food, medical care and a few other exceptions.
The news follows a surge in the D.C. area with 16 coronavirus deaths in a single day. NBC Washington reports that this is the most deaths from the virus in a single day for the D.C. area.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser says in a statement, "Our message remains the same: stay home. Staying at home is the best way to flatten the curve and protect yourself, your family, and our entire community from COVID-19. Many people want to know how they can help right now, and for most people this is how — by staying home."
BREAKING: Washington, D.C. issues stay-at-home order due to coronavirus
— BNO Newsroom (@BNODesk) March 30, 2020
Dr. Matt McCarthy, author of Superbugs, says in a tweet that the CDC will soon start advising Americans to wear masks in everyday life. This has been the practice in many other countries. People are frequently seen wearing masks in China, Japan, Singapore and other Asian countries.
Americans are not used to wearing masks in public but we suspect they would wear them if this was the CDC guidance. Unfortunately, masks are not currently easy to find. Even healthcare workers are having trouble obtaining enough of them.
Dr. McCarthy does not reveal his CDC or government source for the change in guidance. He says in the tweet, "CDC guidance on masks expected to change in next 10 days. Americans will be advised to wear masks in everyday life. Current recommendation is for high-risk groups only."
The CDC's current advice is to wear a facemask if you are sick.
If you are sick: You should wear a facemask, if available, when you are around other people (including before you enter a healthcare provider's office).The CDC also has a note about the lack of facemasks. It says, "During a public health emergency, facemasks may be reserved for healthcare workers. You may need to improvise a facemask using a scarf or bandana."
If you are caring for others: If the person who is sick is not able to wear a facemask (for example, because it causes trouble breathing), then as their caregiver, you should wear a facemask when in the same room with them. Visitors, other than caregivers, are not recommended.
Hopefully, the U.S. will find a way to provide masks for everyone to go along with the potentially updated guidance.