marsh
On TB every waking moment
3:03 min
COVID-19 Q&A: Did the protests in Portland contribute to a spike in COVID-19 cases?
•Jun 30, 2020
KPTV FOX 12 Oregon
Uh no, I don't actually think this is a dig at Trump; if it is a "dig" at anything it is at the growing infection rates in parts of the US, and the EU sees no practical way to do it State by US State.Personally I think they're using COVID as an excuse to take a dig at Trump. ymmv.
(fair use applies)Europe REFUSES to open borders to Americans because US is not 'safe'
The European Union announced Tuesday that it will reopen its borders to travelers from 14 countries, but most Americans have been refused entry for at least another two weeks.www.dailymail.co.uk
European Union REFUSES to open its borders to American travelers because soaring coronavirus means U.S. is not 'safe'
By Frances Mulraney and Associated Press
Published: 03:36 EDT, 30 June 2020 | Updated: 20:47 EDT, 30 June 2020
- The European Union will continue to deny entry to U.S. travelers for at least another two weeks
- 14 'safe' countries whose citizens can enter the EU were announced Tuesday
- The U.S. is not on the list because of soaring levels of coronavirus
- New coronavirus infections across the United States almost doubled last week
- Cases have consistently spiked every week for four straight weeks
- It means no American tourists can travel to popular summer destinations like Paris, the south of France, Italy or Spain
- People from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan are among those able to now travel to the European Union
Americans travelers will be refused entry into the European Union for at least another two weeks due to soaring coronavirus infections in the U.S.
The EU announced Tuesday that it will reopen its borders to travelers from 14 countries, excluding U.S. travelers further because of the recent worrying spike in cases.
Travelers from other big countries such as Russia, Brazil and India will also miss out.
Citizens of Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay will now be allowed into the EU's 27 member states.
They can also enter the four other nations in Europe's visa-free Schengen travel zone.
The EU said China is 'subject to confirmation of reciprocity', meaning it must lift all restrictions on European citizens entering China before it will allow Chinese citizens back in.
Countries considered for the safe list are also expected to lift any bans they might have in place on European travelers.
As Europe's economies reel from the impact of the coronavirus, southern EU countries like Greece, Italy and Spain are desperate to entice back sun-loving visitors and breathe life into their damaged tourism industries.
More than 15 million Americans are estimated to travel to Europe each year, while some 10 million Europeans head across the Atlantic.
Still, many people both inside and outside Europe remain wary of travel in the coronavirus era, given the unpredictability of the pandemic and the possibility of second waves of infection that could affect flights and hotel bookings.
There are concerns in particular about U.S. travelers, where spikes in cases are causing the rollback and slowdown of state reopenings.
New coronavirus infections across the United States almost doubled last week with 31 states reporting an uptick in cases - as Arizona became the latest hot spot to reverse its reopening by closing bars and gyms.
COVID-19 cases across the US increased by 46 percent in the week ending June 28, compared to the previous seven days, with the majority of rises occurring in the West and South of the country.
Nationally, new cases have consistently spiked every week for four straight weeks. Daily cases have been increasing to record highs in the past week - well above the initial surge of infections that were seen back in mid-April.
Infections across the US have now surpassed 2.58 million and more than 126,000 Americans have died since the virus took hold in March.
Part of the 46 percent increase in cases in the past week can be attributed to a 9 percent expansion in testing over that time frame but health experts say lack of social distancing since stay-at-home orders were lifted in most states from Memorial Day is also a factor.
In contrast, aside from a notable recent outbreak tied to a slaughterhouse in western Germany, the virus' spread has generally stabilized across much of continental Europe.
Countries now being allowed to enter the EU have seen a drastic decline in coronavirus cases and have managed to combat the spread within their own borders.
On June 8, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the coronavirus outbreak in the country had been crushed.
She has since come under fire after travelers to the country weren't placed in proper quarantine or tested, leading to further infections, but there are still only 20 active cases in the entire country.
This compares to more than 1.7million active cases in the U.S.
Canadian travelers will also now be allowed entry to the EU.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that Canada is over the worst of the coronavirus outbreak but voiced concern over cases in the neighboring U.S.
Canadian medical officials released their latest forecasts on Monday, showing the number of overall deaths could be between 8,545 and 8,865 by July 12.
The current Canadian death toll is 8,522 compared to more than 125,000 in the U.S.
In Japan, the second country in the world to report coronavirus cases after China, deaths have been kept low compared to the U.S. with many of the population wearing masks.
It has just over 18,600 coronavirus cases whereas the U.S. is nearing 2.6million. Japan's population is about a third of the U.S. population.
Infection rates in Brazil, Russia and India are high too, meaning their citizens are also unlikely to be allowed into the EU any time soon.
Spared disaster in the outbreak's early days, they are all now at the mercy of the fast-spreading virus and have seen cases spiral out of control in recent weeks.
In Brazil and India cases have tripled in a month.
Brazil, a South American country home to 210million people, is now experiencing arguably the worst outbreak in the world after the total number of people to have had Covid-19 rocketed from 411,821 on May 28 to more than 1.31million on Sunday.
It has the second highest number of cases in the world with more than 1.3million.
Brazil also has the second highest number of deaths with a death toll of more than 59,300.
In India, cases soared from 158,333 a month ago to 528,859 today, according to the Our World in Data project.
Meanwhile, more than 60 per cent of daily new cases came from countries in the Americas on Sunday, according to data published by the WHO.
More than a third of 190,000 new infections on Sunday occurred in Brazil and a fifth of them were in the US.
Tens of thousands of travelers had a frantic, chaotic scramble in March to get home as the pandemic swept across the world and borders slammed shut.
EU envoys to Brussels have launched a written procedure which would see the list endorsed Tuesday as long as no objections are raised by member countries.
The list is expected to contain up to 15 countries that have virus infection rates comparable to those in the EU.
The countries would also have to lift any bans they might have on European travelers.
The list of permitted nations is to be updated every 14 days, with new countries being added or even dropping off depending on if they are keeping the disease under control.
It must be passed by a 'qualified majority' of EU countries, meaning 15 EU countries representing 65 percent of the population.
Four EU diplomats said they expected it to secure the required backing.
The list will act as a recommendation to EU members, meaning they will almost certainly not allow access to travelers from other countries, but could potentially set restrictions on those entering from the 14 nations.
In March, President Donald Trump suspended all people from Europe´s ID check-free travel zone from entering the U.S., making it unlikely now that U.S. citizens would qualify to enter the EU.
The EU imposed restrictions on non-essential travel to its 27 nations, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, which are part of the Schengen open-borders area, in March to halt the spread of the virus.
Non-EU citizens who are already living in Europe are not included in the ban.
The EU's efforts to reopen internal borders, particularly among the 26-nation Schengen area which normally has no frontier checks, have been patchy as various countries have restricted access for certain visitors.
Greece is mandating COVID-19 tests for arrivals from a range of EU countries, including France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, with self-isolation until results are known.
The Czech Republic is not allowing in tourists from Portugal and Sweden.
The EU list does not apply to travel to Britain, which left the EU in January.
Britain now requires all incoming travelers - bar a few exceptions like truck drivers - to go into a self-imposed 14-day quarantine, although the measure is under review and is likely to ease in the coming weeks.
The requirement also applies to U.K. citizens.
~~~~~~~~~~
WHERE EU SAYS IS SAFE.. AND IS UNSAFE
On the safe list:
Algeria
Australia
Canada
Georgia
Japan
Montenegro
Morocco
New Zealand
Rwanda
Serbia
South Korea
Thailand
Tunisia
Uruguay
On the unsafe list:
United States
Russia
Brazil
India
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The next major industry to be forced into a second lockdown (and probably bankruptcy or a tax-payer bailout) in 3, 2, 1...(fair use applies)Airlines defend moves to full-capacity flights
The airline industry defended American Airlines on Tuesday for its new policy to fill planes to capacity following criticism from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director…thehill.com
Airlines defend moves to full-capacity flights
By Alex Gangitano
06/30/20 12:36 PM EDT
The airline industry defended American Airlines on Tuesday for its new policy to fill planes to capacity following criticism from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield over concerns about spreading the coronavirus.
Redfield said there was “substantial disappointment with American Airlines” about the move in a Senate hearing on Tuesday following a question from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on the policy.
Airlines for America (A4A), which represents and advocates for major U.S. airlines, defended the decision to fill planes on the basis that maintaining social distancing isn’t possible on planes anyway. American Airlines is a member of A4A.
“You can’t social distance on an airplane. We believe there are safety measures in place on a multilevel basis that makes flying safe, in fact safer than many other activities,” A4A CEO Nicholas E. Calio told reporters on a press call following Redfield’s statement.
Calio noted that you can’t socially distance on an airplane like you can at a grocery store.
“We don’t fly people if we feel it is not safe to fly them,” Calio said. “We are taking extraordinary measures, working with public health officials and others to keep our passengers healthy.”
He also noted American Airlines’ policy tells passengers if their flight is full and allows them to rebook.
The company announced on Friday it will book flights to capacity, effective July 1, following a similar United Airlines policy.
"We are unwavering in our commitment to the safety and well-being of our customers and team members," an American Airlines spokesperson told The Hill in a statement on Tuesday. "We have multiple layers of protection in place for those who fly with us, including required face coverings, enhanced cleaning procedures, and a pre-flight COVID-19 symptom checklist — and we’re providing additional flexibility for customers to change their travel plans, as well. We know our customers are placing their trust in us to make every aspect of their journey safe, and we are committed to doing just that."
American Airlines had previously blocked off 50 percent of the main cabin middle seats and has been notifying customers if their flight is crowded when they check in. Other airlines have been blocking all middle seats, including Delta, JetBlue and Southwest.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator David Pekoske said on the press call that the agency has implemented social distancing during check points in airports and opened more security lanes to maintain it.
Pekoske also defended the federal government’s decision not to take passengers’ temperatures at check points, which A4A has requested, and not to require masks in airports, which the Airports Council International-North America has requested.
“Temperature checks are not a guarantee that passengers that don’t have an elevated temperature don’t have COVID-19,” Pekoske said.
He added that no decision has been made on whether the government will conduct temperature checks, echoing previous statements from the agency.
Major U.S. airlines announced earlier this month that masks are required on flights, and customers who refuse to wear the protective gear could be placed on a do not fly list. Masks are required inside 20 of the 30 large hub airports in the U.S., according to the American Association of Airport Executives.
TSA has relied on airports to make those policies.
“We encourage passengers to follow the CDC guidance, which recommends masks in public spaces,” Pekoske said.
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Uh no, I don't actually think this is a dig at Trump; if it is a "dig" at anything it is at the growing infection rates in parts of the US, and the EU sees no practical way to do it State by US State.
If it makes you feel any better, Ireland is in the EU and we are not considered fully "safe" yet either and we've got very few active cases in the Republic (but we share a land border with the UK that is also not considered fully safe and just had to put an entire city back on lock-down).
Ireland is considered "safer" than the US and some EU countries will allow visits, but despite massive lobbying by the tourist industry, Ireland is keeping their 14-day quarantine for ANYONE entering the Republic for at least another week or two (seeing how things are going elsewhere, especially in the UK).
This isn't a joke, and while everything is political on some level, the disease itself doesn't care.
I only had time to skim this; but any nation, state, county or city that tells their health department and doctors NOT to even ASK if their infected patients have gone to protests or other math gathering is not only being negligent, it is downright STUPID from a medical point of view.(fair use applies)Florida doctors aren't asking coronavirus patients if they took part in protests, health official says
A senior health official with the Orange County, Florida Department of Health says that asking about activity during the recent George Floyd protests that swept the nation, has not been a part of the coronavirus contract tracing questions in Florida.www.foxnews.com
Florida doctors aren't asking coronavirus patients if they took part in protests, health official says
Health official in Florida says its 'not a coincidence' that coronavirus rates have spiked following recent protests
By Caitlin McFall | Fox News
Published 3 hours ago
A senior health official with the Orange County, Florida Department of Health says that asking about activism during the recent George Floyd protests, has not been a part of the coronavirus contract tracing questions in the Sunshine State.
“The information that we collect is voluntarily offered to us,” Dr. Raul Pino told a local news outlet when explaining how contract tracing works. “We don’t ask specifically to individuals ‘Have you been at the protest?' because there’s so many elements of freedom and rights for those individuals to be at those protests.”
Orange County, Fla., has had more than10,000 coronavirus cases, with nearly 283 new cases reported Tuesday, according to the state's Department of Health.
This is just a fraction of the nearly 150,000 cases reported in the state, which has seen recent spikes in infection rates.
The profusion of new cases resulted in Florida’s alcohol regulatory agency banning all alcohol consumption in bars last week, as the daily increase reached over 9,500 new cases Friday.
“Effective immediately, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation is suspending on-premises consumption of alcohol at bars statewide,” the agency said in a tweet.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that infection rates in young age demographics have spiked, adding that the median age is no longer hovering around 65. Instead, it has dropped to 33.
“The community transmission is being driven by the 18-35-year-old group,” DeSantis said in a press conference Friday.
Lawmakers and health officials have suggested it has to do with younger demographics heading to bars and not practicing social distancing. However, Orange County health official Pino said he doesn’t “think that’s a coincidence” that the numbers have increased roughly two weeks after the protests started.
He also noted that this could still be a result of states initiating reopening measures around Memorial Day, the same day that George Floyd was killed while in police custody.
Large scale protests happened in Minneapolis, Atlanta, New York and Washington D.C., but recent spikes of coronavirus have not yet occurred in these cities.
States currently struggling with recent surges of COVID-19 rates are Texas, Florida, Arizona and Oklahoma.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who serves as the lead medical specialist on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, addressed younger demographics last week, encouraging them to take the virus seriously.
"It's a paradigm shift because we're dealing with young people, people who are going to be asymptomatic, and people who are getting infected in a community setting, not an outbreak setting where you know who to identify, isolate and contact trace," Fauci said.
Vice President Mike Pence also addressed the younger age groups seeing spikes in infection rates.
“If there’s one message that comes through today I hope it is saying to younger Americans in these states, and in these counties in particular, that they are a big part of the numbers that we are seeing in new cases,” Pence said during a press conference last Friday
Pence was asked if he believed there was any correlation between the states that opened early and where the spikes in the virus were occurring.
“I think there will be a temptation for people to look at these Sunbelt states that have been reopening and putting people back to work and suggest that the reopening has to do with what we’re seeing in the last week or so,” Pence said.
Florida’s Department of Health could not be immediately reached to clarify what questions they ask during contract tracing to compare rates with social gatherings versus people who attended the recent demonstrations.
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Living here and watching, hearing all the local news - yeah a lot of people (probably all the larger governments at this point) dislike Trump, I am not arguing that.Agree to disagree. If 0bama was president, the EU would not shut out Americans, they would let them come in KNOWING they could be infectious because they (and all the politicians who are dealing with this virus, on both sides of the aisle) care more about politics than lives. The EU globalists hate Trump and they are piling on to make him look weak. imho, ymmv.
And of course the disease isn't political and doesn't care about politics; honey badger marches on and does it thing no matter what the politicians are doing about it and what power grabs are being made. I wouldn't be posting all these articles every night if I didn't think the virus was very real and very deadly. And not only is it not going away, I don't think we've even come close to seeing how bad this can (is going to) get.
HD