Month: August 2020

Tri-state area governors have yet to reveal whether they will be lifting their 14-day coronavirus travel self-quarantine requirements following the CDC saying its no longer necessary.  On Friday, the CDC lifted its advice that people should self-quarantine after traveling from international locations or from areas that are experiencing high numbers of coronavirus cases.  Instead, the public health institution now just says that travelers should 'follow state, territorial, tribal and local recommendations or requirements after travel.'   The CDC dropped its recommendation that travelers self-quarantine for 14 days. Travelers are seen wearing masks at New York City's JFK Airport  The CDC does note that 'Travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19' a...

In explaining his reversal, Mr. Koster noted that many countries are not allowing their citizens to travel overseas, including Australia, which has long been a major source of visitors to Bali. The governor said Bali’s economy contracted 11 percent during the second quarter of the year. About 2,700 tourism workers have been laid off and another 74,000 are on unpaid leave, he said. Many others have had their hours reduced and are working part time, tourism operators say. With Bali’s tourism economy devastated, many hotel workers have returned to their home villages where they can help their families grow food. Some also fish or collect clams and shrimp. But workers from neighboring islands, who don’t have access to farmland in Bali, are struggling to feed themselves and rely in part on ass...

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO website. Leading health agencies have issued slightly differing advice about wearing a face mask during exercise. The CDC recommends that face masks or coverings are worn in public when around other people to help slow the spread of coronavirus, while the World Health Organization has stated that mask-wearing while working out can force sweat to accumulate and that might make it harder to breathe. (Here's some a...

Last Updated Aug 24, 2020 9:08 PM EDT Drugmaker AstraZeneca's potential coronavirus vaccine is now in advanced trials, and the company says it has the capacity to make three billion doses when the vaccine is ready. But even before the final phase of testing and government approval, the vaccine is on a massive manufacturing drive. "In that particular process you will be making millions of vaccines," said Pall Corporation's director of strategy Dr. Clive Glover.  But the challenge is how to scale from a small vial of vaccine to billions of doses — quickly.  "That process would generally be measured in years," Glover said. "And five years is not unusual. We were able to design the process, get our equipment in to one of our manufacturing...

Medication for high blood pressure could improve survival rates for those suffering from COVID-19 and reduce the severity of infection, according to new research from a team of scientists at the University of East Anglia in the U.K. and published Monday in the journal Current Atherosclerosis Reports, a bimonthly peer-reviewed medical journal. The researchers studied 28,000 patients taking antihypertensives — a class of drugs that are used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) — and said the risk of death and a severe response to coronavirus infection was reduced for patients with high blood pressure who were taking Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) or Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARB). ...