COVID-19 News from Around the Web

963,000 Americans filed *new* unemployment claims last week. That's the lowest level since early March and marks the first time in 21 weeks that new claims have been below 1 million. In the week ending August 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 963,000, a decrease of 228,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 5,000 from 1,186,000 to 1,191,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,252,750, a decrease of 86,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 1,250 from 1,337,750 to 1,339,000.

A top official at the Federal Reserve criticized the decision by many states to reopen businesses this spring before getting the virus fully under control, and said those choices have hindered an economic recovery in the U.S. Eric Rosengren, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, said states in the South and West that allowed businesses to reopen after shutting down for a brief period did register an initial burst of economic activity. But spikes in infection rates soon followed and economies in those states are now lagging those in the Northeast as consumers have become more cautious and bars and restaurants have been shut down again in some states. Rosengren’s comments, delivered online Wednesday, are some of the most specific yet by a Fed official tying the health of the economy to the nation’s ability to control the virus. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has emphasized generally that recovery from the recession depends on conquering the pandemic, but Rosengren’s remarks delved into the sharp difference in infection rates, both within regions of the United States, and the U.S. compared with Europe. “Limited or inconsistent efforts by states to control the virus based on public health guidance are not only placing citizens at unnecessary risk of severe illness and possible death – but are also likely to prolong the economic downturn,” Rosengren said in prepared remarks. “Despite the sizable interventions by monetary and fiscal policymakers ... the recovery may be losing steam, as activities in many states are once again restricted (officially or voluntarily) to slow the virus’s spread,” Rosengren said.

A top federal health official is issuing a dire warning: Follow recommended coronavirus measures or risk having the worst fall in US public health history. Coronavirus has infected more than 5 million people and killed over 166,000 nationwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. On Wednesday alone, there were 55,910 reported new cases and 1,499 deaths -- the highest number of fatalities since May. "For your country right now and for the war that we're in against Covid, I'm asking you to do four simple things: wear a mask, social distance, wash your hands and be smart about crowds," said Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "I'm not asking some of America to do it," he told WebMD. "We all gotta do it." Without following the recommendations, this could be "the worst fall, from a public health perspective, we've ever had," he said. In addition to taking measures to combat the pandemic, people should also get a flu vaccine.

The White House released eight new recommendations for US schools as they prepare to reopen -- but the recommendations are little more than basic hygiene tips and don’t outline what to do if they face coronavirus cases in their halls. The broad recommendations are similar to coronavirus mitigation efforts across the country, and not particularly specific to schools. The “general recommendations for all schools,” which were released at President Donald Trump’s daily coronavirus news conference, focus on what students and teachers should do to attempt to keep people safe as they return to the classroom. The recommendations include ensuring that students and staff “understand the symptoms of COVID-19” and require “all students, teachers and staff to self-assess their health every morning before coming to school. The recommendations also encourage the use of masks, but do not require students, teachers or staff to wear them. They also “require students, teachers and staff to socially distance around high-risk individuals,” however it’s unclear how schools will go about doing that. Trump did say “we’re also providing high-risk teachers and students options to engage in distance teaching and learning.” The President said one of the reasons he wants students to return to school is because there are very few fatalities in younger Americans.

For many US schools welcoming students back, a return to in-person learning was abruptly halted after new Covid-19 cases. More than 2,000 students, teachers and staff members across five states have been quarantined after at least 230 positive coronavirus cases were reported. It's a grim start to the school year many hoped could mark the beginning of a return to normalcy, but one experts have long warned would come at a cost. More studies have shown how easily children can get and spread coronavirus. But some pediatricians caution that distance-learning has negative consequences for primary-age students and for working families. The dilemma has forced school districts to navigate whether to re-open, and what to do if in-person learning proves dangerous.

As parents nationwide prepare to help their children with more distance learning, a small but quickly growing number are deciding to take matters entirely into their own hands and begin homeschooling. Some are worried their districts are unable to offer a strong virtual learning program. For others who may have been considering homeschooling, concerns for their family’s health amid the coronavirus and the on-again, off-again planning for in-person instruction are leading them to part ways with school systems. Mindy Kroesche, a freelance writer and editor from Lincoln, Nebraska, had been leaning toward homeschooling her 12-year-old son, who has autism and ADHD diagnoses that made middle school a challenge. But she always felt her 10-year-old daughter was “built for school.” Now with the pandemic raging, she is pulling them both out for the year. “We just saw that with her wearing a mask for the entire day, that would make learning more difficult for her,” she said. “It was going to be such a different environment. We didn’t think it would be as beneficial for her.” Homeschooling applications are surging in states including Nebraska, where they are up 21%, and Vermont, where they are up 75%. In North Carolina, a rush of parents filing notices that they planned to homeschool overwhelmed a government website last month, leaving it temporarily unable to accept applications. There were about 2.5 million homeschool students last year in grades K-12 in the U.S., making up about 3% to 4% of school-age children, according to the National Home Educators Research Institute. Brian Ray, the group’s president, is anticipating that their numbers will increase by at least 10%.

With coronavirus cases climbing in the United States, many parents are wary of taking their kids in for vaccinations, new research finds. The survey of more than 700 parents by Orlando Health found that although 84% believe vaccines are necessary to protect their children from a host of diseases, two-thirds fear taking their kids to their doctor because of COVID-19. Orlando resident Cynthia Velasco is one parent preparing her 5-year-old son, AJ, to attend kindergarten this year. "He's so excited to go to what he calls 'big boy school,'" she said in an Orlando Health news release. "And while I'm confident that the schools are doing all they can to keep students safe, it makes me nervous that his immune system has been largely untested as we were socially distant for the past several months."

Regular testing to catch "silent" COVID-19 spread among students will be key to safely reopening colleges this fall, campus infection control experts say. Extensive modeling suggests that testing college students for COVID every two to three days using a low-cost, less accurate test would be the best strategy for campuses to safely reopen this fall, according to research led by David Paltiel, a professor of health policy at the Yale School of Public Health. "What really is concerning me are the many schools out there that are considering the option of not doing any testing, but of simply monitoring students for symptoms of COVID and using those signs and symptoms of illness to trigger testing, isolation, contact tracing and quarantine," Paltiel said.

A recent study by Duke University researchers tested a variety of masks to determine their effectiveness to block droplets that carry the coronavirus. They found that gaiter masks, or neck fleeces, were the least effective. But there is another kind of mask the CDC wants you to ditch: those with vents or valves. The reason for wearing a mask is not as much to protect yourself as it is to protect others, the CDC says. “The purpose of masks is to keep respiratory droplets from reaching others to aid with source control. Masks with one-way valves or vents allow exhaled air to be expelled out through holes in the material. This can allow exhaled respiratory droplets to reach others and potentially spread the COVID-19 virus. Therefore, CDC does not recommend using masks if they have an exhalation valve or vent,” the agency wrote on its site.

The sheriff in a central Florida COVID-19 hot spot has issued a directive prohibiting deputies, staff and visitors to department offices from wearing protective face masks, an order that came as a local mayor and city council squared off over a mask ordinance for businesses. Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods sent an email Tuesday informing the approximately 900 people working in the department that "when you are on-duty/working as my employee and representing my Office – masks will not be worn," the Ocala Star-Banner reports. Woods added that "effective immediately, any individual walking in to any one of our lobbies (which includes the main office and all district offices) that is wearing a mask will be asked to remove it." "[I]n light of the current events when it comes to the sentiment and/or hatred toward law enforcement in our country today, this is being done to ensure there is clear communication and for identification purposes of any individual walking into a lobby," he said. "We can debate and argue all day of why and why not," Woods added. "The fact is, the amount of professionals that give the reason why we should, I can find the exact same amount of professionals that say why we shouldn't."

The Big East joined the growing list of conferences not playing sports in the fall. The conference announced that men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, volleyball and field hockey won’t be contested. Georgetown is the defending national champions in men’s soccer. Teams will still be allowed to practice and have team activities that are consistent with individual campus policies. Men’s and women’s basketball are not affected at this time and will be evaluated at a later point.

When actress Alyssa Milano was first struck by the new coronavirus back in March, her symptoms mirrored the classic signs of COVID-19: fever, headache, loss of smell, chest heaviness, extreme breathing difficulties and a bad stomach. "It felt like I was dying," Milano, 47, posted on Twitter. Those symptoms have persisted, and even expanded to include vertigo, heart palpitations, memory loss, confusion, menstruation disruption and general malaise. The good news is that Milano, star of several TV series -- such as "Who's the Boss," "Melrose Place" and "Charmed" -- said she's finally on the road to recovery. The bad news: COVID-19 is now causing her hair to fall out. "This is my hair loss from COVID-19," declared Milano, who returned to Twitter on Sunday to post a video of her ongoing ordeal. Armed with a detangler brush, she's seen slowly combing through her hair. One minute later, she holds up a large clump of hair. "I just wanted to show you the amount of hair that is coming out of my head as a result of COVID," she said. What's happening? "Telogen effluvium," explained Dr. Patrick Angelos, a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Charleston Plastic Surgery, in South Carolina. A specialist in hair restoration, Angelos said the condition is characterized by "a temporary loss [of hair] thought to be a defense mechanism to help the body conserve vital energy, nutrients for fighting infection [or] recovering from trauma." The condition is unlikely to be directly caused by COVID-19 itself, he said. Rather it's "likely an immune and systemic response caused by the body's reaction to the virus."