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COVID-19 News from Around the Web

U.S. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations log biggest weekly drops since pandemic started
Reuters - February 9, 2021
The US reported a 25% drop in new cases of COVID-19 to about 825,000 last week, the biggest fall since the pandemic started, although health officials said they were worried new variants of the virus could slow or reverse this progress. New cases of the virus have now fallen for four weeks in a row to the lowest level since early November, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county reports.
Rep. Ron Wright Is 1st Member Of Congress To Die After Coronavirus Diagnosis
NPR - February 9, 2021
Rep. Ron Wright, a Texas Republican, died Sunday after testing positive for the coronavirus … Wright, 67, said last month he began a quarantine on Jan. 15 after coming into contact with an individual who had the virus a week earlier. He said he tested positive for the virus the following week, on Jan. 21. … Wright, who was serving his second term in the House, had been treated for cancer for several years, according to his office.
Coronavirus death risk increases for those with prior cases of pneumonia, study suggests
Fox News - February 9, 2021
Those who have suffered a common lung illness in the past may be more at risk of severe illness or even death should they contract the novel coronavirus, suggests a new study conducted by Havard researchers. … In fact, a history of pneumonia was named as the second-greatest overall risk factor for death from the novel disease, according to the study published in NPJ Digital Medicine earlier this month.
COVID-19 patients with gum disease 9 times more likely to die, study says
Fox News - February 9, 2021
A study of more than 500 patients also found that those with gum disease were 3.5 times more likely to be admitted to intensive care and 4.5 times more likely to need a ventilator ... In addition, coronavirus patients with poor gum health are at least three times more likely to experience complications, according to the study published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology.
Bans on Evictions, Utility Shutoffs Are Curbing COVID Infections: Study
HealthDay - February 9, 2021
Over the first nine months of the pandemic, the study found, U.S. counties with those policies reduced COVID-19 infection rates by about 4%. The impact on deaths appeared greater: Moratoria on evictions, specifically, were linked to an 11% decrease in COVID-related deaths, while bans on utility disconnections were tied to a 7% decline.
TSA Announces Fines Up to $1,500 for Flyers Who Won’t Wear Masks — and ‘Narrow Exception’ Cases
PEOPLE - February 9, 2021
In the update to the Jan. 31 order — which read, in part, that the group would "require individuals to wear a mask at TSA airport screening checkpoints and throughout the commercial and public transportation systems" effective Feb. 2 through at least May 11, amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis — TSA added that they would "recommend a fine ranging from $250 for the first offense up to $1,500 for repeat offenders."
Facebook Widens Ban On COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation In Push To Boost Confidence
NPR - February 9, 2021
The company is widening the list of banned claims to include posts falsely claiming the virus is man-made or manufactured and that face masks don't prevent the spread of COVID. It's also banning false claims about vaccines in general that have long been in circulation despite being repeatedly debunked: that vaccines are toxic, dangerous or cause autism, that they are not effective, and that it's safer to get a disease than the vaccine meant to prevent it.