COVID-19 News from Around the Web

Packing beaches, pool parties and outdoor gatherings all over the US, many Americans used the holiday weekend to mark the unofficial beginning of summer -- ditching the face masks and social distancing urged by health officials. Many people, undoubtedly, continued to abide by new restrictions set in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus -- staying in small groups, wearing masks and keeping a distance from others. But in some parts of the country, Memorial Day happenings looked not at all unlike any other year. People jammed into tight spaces, grabbed drinks in groups at oceanfront bars and lined their chairs and towels alongside each other on the beach. In 10 states, the number of new cases is on the decline, while it seems to be steady in 22 states, according to the data. But in 18 states -- including Georgia, Arkansas, California and Alabama -- the number of new cases is rising.

The world is still in the middle of the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak, WHO emergencies head Dr Mike Ryan told an online briefing, noting that while cases are declining in many countries they are still increasing in Central and South America, South Asia and Africa. Ryan said epidemics often come in waves, which means that outbreaks could come back later this year in places where the first wave has subsided. There was also a chance that infection rates could rise again more quickly if measures to halt the first wave were lifted too soon.

The White House on Monday brought forward by two days restrictions on travel to the United States from Brazil as the number of deaths from the new coronavirus in the South American nation surpassed the U.S. daily toll. A White House statement amended the timing of the start of the restrictions to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, May 26 (0359 GMT on Wednesday, May 27) instead of May 28 as in the original announcement on Sunday.

A study of 96,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients on six continents found that those who received an antimalarial drug promoted by President Trump as a “game changer” in the fight against the virus had a significantly higher risk of death compared with those who did not. People treated with hydroxychloroquine, or the closely related drug chloroquine, were also more likely to develop a type of irregular heart rhythm, or arrhythmia, that can lead to sudden cardiac death, it concluded. … For those given hydroxychloroquine, there was a 34 percent increase in risk of mortality and a 137 percent increased risk of a serious heart arrhythmias. For those receiving hydroxychloroquine and an antibiotic — the cocktail endorsed by Trump — there was a 45 percent increased risk of death and a 411 percent increased risk of serious heart arrhythmias.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have updated their guidance to note that the coronavirus "does not spread easily" from touching surfaces or objects — but experts say people should remain vigilant about washing their hands. It's unclear exactly when the CDC updated its guidance. … The CDC lists touching surfaces and objects as one of three paths that do not easily spread the virus. (The other two are from animals to people and people to animals). The federal agency notes that people can get COVID-19 by touching an infected surface and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes, but it's not the main way the virus spreads.

The U.S. could have prevented roughly 36,000 deaths from COVID-19 if broad social distancing measures had been put in place just one week earlier in March, according to an analysis from Columbia University. Underlining the importance of aggressively responding to the coronavirus, the study found the U.S. could have avoided at least 700,000 fewer infections if actions that began on March 15 had actually started on March 8.

Trump visited Ypsilanti, outside Detroit, to tour a Ford Motor Co. factory that had been repurposed to manufacture ventilators, the medical breathing machines governors begged for during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. But his visit came amid a long-running feud with the state’s Democratic governor and a day after the president threatened to withhold federal funds over the state’s expanded vote-by-mail effort. And, again, the president did not publicly wear a face covering despite a warning from the state’s top law enforcement officer that a refusal to do so might lead to a ban on his return.

Even with all 50 states taking steps to reopen their economies, this Memorial Day weekend will not resemble any in decades. In many places, beaches and parks will be open, but groups will asked to stay six feet apart; restaurants will only be serving customers outside; and bars will be closed in what is customarily one of the year’s biggest drinking weekends.