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COVID-19 News from Around the Web

‘This Is Too Much’: Working Moms Are Reaching The Breaking Point During The Pandemic
NPR - September 30, 2020
The constant interruptions from children are happening in households across the country. Nearly half of all school districts in the U.S. started the school year with remote learning, including Lee's district in Fairfax County, Va. With the added complexities of managing multiple Zoom calls at work and online learning for the kids, parents – especially moms — are hitting a breaking point.
Will COVID-19 make gyms extinct? Worries mount for health clubs
TODAY - September 30, 2020
The fitness industry has been “absolutely devastated” by COVID-19 … Almost $14 billion of revenue has been lost so far this year through September 1, with many clubs still not open, she noted. In gyms that are open, capacity has often been reduced 25-50%, though clubs still have 100% of expenses. IHRSA estimates at least a quarter of the country’s 40,000 fitness facilities could close by the end of 2020 without financial relief from Congress.
Worldwide grief: Death toll from coronavirus tops 1 million
AP - September 29, 2020
8 1/2 months after an infection doctors had never seen before claimed its first victims in China, the pandemic’s confirmed death toll has eclipsed 1 million, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University. … [Even at 1 million] the toll is almost certainly a vast undercount. Many deaths were probably missed because of insufficient testing and inconsistent reporting, and some suspect concealment by countries like Russia and Brazil. And the number continues to mount. Nearly 5,000 deaths are reported each day on average.
Covid-19 twice as likely in teens than in younger kids
NBC News - September 29, 2020
Teenagers are twice as likely to be diagnosed with Covid-19 than younger kids, according to a report released Monday by the CDC. The findings could have implications for educators as they wrestle with how to reopen schools safely, as well as for public health officials charged with figuring out how to prioritize Covid-19 vaccine distribution. … The new CDC report focuses on 277,285 infections among school-age children between March 1 and mid-September. The majority, 63 percent, were over age 12, compared with just 37 percent between the ages of 5 and 11.
Feds to ship millions of tests in bid to reopen K-12 schools
AP - September 29, 2020
Trump announced Monday that the federal government will begin distributing millions of rapid coronavirus tests to states this week and urged governors to use them to reopen schools for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The move to vastly expand U.S. testing comes as confirmed new COVID-19 cases remain elevated at more than 40,000 per day and experts warn of a likely surge in infections during the colder months ahead. It also comes just five weeks before the November election, with Trump facing continued criticism for his handling of the crisis.
Alarming Data Show a Third Wave of COVID-19 Is About to Hit the U.S.
TIME - September 29, 2020
Heading into the fall and winter, there are clear signs of a third resurgence bearing a close resemblance to what we saw in early June. Since the most recent nadir on Sept. 9, when the national rate was at 34,300 cases a day—still a notch above the April peak—cases have risen to 45,300 a day, a 32% increase. The numbers paint an alarmingly familiar picture that spells trouble ahead—despite President Donald Trump’s repeated but false assertions that the country is “rounding the final turn” on the pandemic.
CDC recommends virtual Thanksgiving to lessen risk of COVID-19 spreading
CBS News - September 29, 2020
In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the CDC is recommending families who usually travel to see each other hold virtual Thanksgivings instead. … The agency recommends families skip traveling altogether and have smaller Thanksgiving dinners with people only living in the same household. The CDC also recommends having a virtual dinner and sharing recipes with friends and family, as a way to celebrate the holiday while social distancing.
COVID-19 Patients Rarely Survive Cardiac Arrest: Study
HealthDay - September 29, 2020
Folks whose hearts stop due to a severe case of COVID-19 are very unlikely to leave the hospital alive, a new study shows. Out of 54 patients at a Michigan hospital who suffered cardiac arrest while battling COVID-19, none survived their illness even though 29 were resuscitated by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the researchers reported. … "I think we can say in this setting of cardiac arrest and COVID, the chances of cardiac resuscitation working are very, very low."
Most Newborns of COVID-19-Infected Moms Fare Well
HealthDay - September 29, 2020
Babies born to mothers with COVID-19 only rarely suffer from effects of the virus, a new study suggests. These newborns generally do well in the six to eight weeks after birth, but more are admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) if their mothers had COVID-19 in the two weeks before delivery. Of more than 200 babies studied, complications including preterm birth and NICU admission didn't differ among mothers with and without COVID-19. No pneumonia or lower respiratory infections were reported through 8 weeks of age.
A Rare Expansion in Abortion Access Because of COVID-19
TIME - September 29, 2020
As no one could have predicted, medication abortion care has really come into its own during the COVID-19 crisis. This method involves considerably less close provider-patient interaction than other abortion methods. I have found in recent interviews with providers that increasingly patients are opting for this regimen. Clinic staff are developing new protocols to minimize face-to-face interaction as much as possible, for example by doing preliminary counseling using telehealth, and by sending patients home with a pregnancy test, thereby eliminating the need for a follow-up visit to ascertain a successful abortion.
Businesses could face billions of dollars in lawsuits from employees who brought Covid-19 home to relatives
NBC News - September 29, 2020
Between 7 percent and 9 percent of the roughly 200,000 U.S. Covid-19 deaths so far are believed to stem from take-home infections and the lawsuits could cost businesses up to $21 billion if the number of Americans fatalities reaches 300,000, according to Praedicat, a firm that evaluates risks for insurers. … The U.S. workers compensation system generally makes it difficult for workers to sue for Covid-19. The system caps liability for businesses and bars costly lawsuits in return for quick payments to employees, who do not need to prove fault.