Tag: kodak

The Past 24 Hours or So – Coronavirus/COVID-19 Update

Read Time: 6 Minutes

  • The U.S. reported 61,660 new cases and another 1,292 deaths. Arkansas, California, Florida, Montana, Oregon and Texas each reported record spikes in fatalities.
  • Dr. Anthony Fauci discussed the surges in southern states, and how to hopefully avoid future surges through careful reopening, “Obviously, the southern states that really had a major surge,” Fauci said, naming Florida, Texas, Arizona and California. “They appear, I hope, and it looks like they may be cresting and coming back down.”

Fauci said that what he was concerned about other states, such as Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky, “that are starting to have that very early indication that the percent of cases regarding the number of tests you have – that the percent is starting to go up.”

“That’s a surefire sign that you’ve got to be really careful.” Fauci said.

“If you are trying to open up, please do it in a way that’s in accordance with the guidelines,” Fauci added.

  • “If you look at the deaths as they’re occurring right now – about 1,000 per day – unless we get our arms around this and get it suppressed, we are going to have further suffering and further death,” said Dr. Fauci.
  • Twitter removed a tweet that had been retweeted by President Trump that falsely said that there was a cure for the coronavirus. Late Monday night, Trump retweeted a tweet from an account with the handle “@stella_immanuel” that said: “Covid has cure. America wake up.”
  • Stella Immanue, a Houston doctor who appeared in a video this week published by the right-wing outlet Breitbart News, made false statements about the coronavirus in a video that was removed from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube this week has previously made other unfounded claims about medical conditions, sexual contact with demons, the U.S. government, children’s television shows and more.
  • President Trump resumed his defense of using hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, despite substantial medical evidence disproving its effectiveness, saying he believed the debate about it had become “very political.” 

Trump added later that he believed use of the drug to treat COVID-19 has become taboo specifically because he has promoted it. 

Public health officials have repeatedly said that there is no evidence the drug is effective in treating the disease.

  • Fauci said, “I go along with the FDA. The overwhelming prevailing clinical trials that have looked at the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine have indicated that it is not effective in coronavirus disease.” 
  • President Trump questioned why Anthony Fauci has a higher approval rating with the public than he does on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

“He’s got this high approval rating, so why don’t I have a high approval rating … with respect to the virus?” Trump wondered aloud.

  • The Topps NOW limited-edition baseball trading card featuring Anthony Fauci shattered an all-time sales record run for the company in selling 51,512 cards in the span of just 24 hours. 
  • Newly declassified intelligence shows that the Russian military intelligence unit known as the GRU is using a variety of English-language websites to spread disinformation about the novel coronavirus.

The new alleged Russian disinformation campaign deals primarily with websites acting as legitimate news outlets.

  • The U.S. was slow to recognize the coronavirus threat from Europe, Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the CDC, admitted for the first time in an interview with ABC News.
  • Coronavirus is not known to spread through food or food packaging, FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said. 
  • The Trump Administration has awarded $6.6 billion in taxpayer money to private companies for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Executives at these pharmaceutical firms are taking home multimillion-dollar compensation packages even before their companies produce a working treatment.

  • President Trump said his administration will use the Defense Production Act to turn Kodak into a pharmaceutical company, an announcement he called “one of the most important deals in the history of US pharmaceutical industries.” 

“With this new agreement, my administration is using the Defense Production Act to provide a $765 million loan to support the launch of Kodak pharmaceuticals.”

  • Twitter temporarily suspended Donald Trump Jr. from tweeting or retweeting for twelve hours after the president’s son posted false information on the coronavirus on the social media site.
  • Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) Tweeted: “The GOP COVID-19 bill includes

$2 billion for F-35s

$1.75 billion for an FBI building

$1 billion for surveillance planes

$375 million for armored vehicles

$360 million for missile defense

$283 million for Apache helicopters 

$0 for millions facing eviction

It’s Dead on Arrival”

  • House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said that Democrats are not insisting that $600 federal unemployment payments be included in the massive coronavirus relief package under negotiation between the two parties.

“It’s not $600 or bust,” he said on CNN’s “New Day” program. “Speaker Pelosi said the other day, which I thought was a great line: ‘We don’t have red lines, we have values. And we’re going into these negotiations with values.'”

  • Joe Biden told reporters he has not yet been tested for coronavirus.
  • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is demanding that lawmakers remove the $1.75 billion in funding for a new FBI headquarters in downtown Washington from the GOP’s coronavirus relief package, a proposal that the White House asked to have included in the bill.

Many have speculated Trump is pushing to change the FBI headquarters to prevent a hotel that would compete with the Trump hotel in DC from being built in the prime location.

  • The Consumer Technology Association announced that it will be hosting its flagship event, the Consumer Electronic Show (CES), digitally in 2021. CES usually attracts over 4,000 exhibitors and nearly 175,000 attendees to the Las Vegas Convention Center.
  • C&C Breakfast and Korean Kitchen, the restaurant in Castle Rock, Colorado that defied state orders by reopening on Mother’s Day despite a statewide shutdown, announced it would be closing permanently, The Denver Post reported.
  • All games on the Miami Marlins’ schedule through Sunday have been postponed.
  • The remainder of the home-and-home series between the Phillies and the New York Yankees has been postponed.
  • 21 NFL players have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. 
  • Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) will issue an executive order later this week setting Sept. 8 as a universal start date for students to return back to school in the fall.

Scott said, “We have achieved a stage of viral suppression that will allow us to open schools comfortably,”

  • Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) offered Major League Baseball the option of playing games in New York state if they’re having difficulty playing in other states.
  • 45 businesses in New York have had their liquor licenses suspended for “egregious violations” of coronavirus regulations.
  • Pennsylvania reported 1,120 new Covid-19 cases and 24 more deaths.
  • Philadelphia has extended their ban on indoor dining until Sept. 1.
  • Philadelphia’s superintendent of schools is now proposing all students continue with virtual learning until at least November 17.
  • Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) will impose new restrictions on restaurants and bars, but only in an eastern section of the state that’s experiencing a major surge of new coronavirus cases. 

Bars in the Hampton Roads area will be prohibited from serving alcohol after 10 p.m. and restaurants will have to close by midnight and will be reduced to 50 percent capacity for indoor dining.

  • North Carolina reported 1,244 new hospitalizations, breaking the previous record of 1,228 cases on July 22. In addition, the state recorded 1,749 new cases.
  • Starting Friday, restaurants in North Carolina must stop selling alcohol after 11 p.m., Gov. Roy Cooper announced in a news conference today.

Bars will remain closed, Cooper said, adding that “we want to prevent restaurants from turning into bars after hours.”

  • Georgia reported 4,293 new cases and 54 new deaths.
  • Florida reported 186 new deaths, breaking the previous record of 173 deaths on July 23. The state had 9,203 new cases. 
  • Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) touted “positive developments” in Covid-19 fight as his  state broke another record for new deaths. 
  • The City of Miami has issued at least 167 tickets to individuals not wearing masks in the city. 
  • Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giménez (R) said the Miami Marlins should follow the 14-day quarantine protocol when they return to South Florida.
  • South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) said that schools in her state should be open. “The science is very clear on schools. Our schools should be open.” 
  • Oklahoma reported 1,089 new Covid-19 cases and 13 new deaths.

Sources:  ABC News, Associated Press, The Atlantic, Axios, Bloomberg, CBS News, CNN, Financial Times, Fox News,The Hill, Independent, NBC News, NJ.com, NPR, NY Times, Politico, Reuters, Salon, Slate, Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post