Month: September 2020

(Reuters) - U.S. deaths from the coronavirus will reach 410,000 by the end of the year, more than double the current death toll, and deaths could soar to 3,000 per day in December, the University of Washington’s health institute forecast on Friday. Deaths could be reduced by 30% if more Americans wore face masks as epidemiologists have advised, but mask-wearing is declining, the university’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation said. The U.S. death rate projected by the IHME model, which has been cited by the White House Coronavirus Task Force, would more than triple the current death rate of some 850 per day. “We expect the daily death rate in the United States, because of seasonality and declining vigilance of the public, to reach nearly 3,000 a day in December,” the inst...

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- People experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County are testing positive for the coronavirus at rates far lower than the population at large. The positive rate among LA County's homeless is less than 2%. The county's most recent test positivity rate in general is now 4.6%, though in the past it has gotten close to 10%. A top health official says fears about rapid spread among those who live in shelters and on the streets did not come true. A leading homeless advocate believes the low rates are because a majority of the county's homeless live outside. Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom says California will spend $600 million to convert hotels and apartment buildings into permanent supportive housing for homeless residents. Dr. Anthony Cardillo, an ER specialist and CEO ...

EAU CLAIRE (WKOW) --  Laboratory testing confirmed Wisconsin's first 2020 human death from eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), state health officials announced Friday. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and the Chippewa County Health Department sent out a news release with the information. A Chippewa County woman in her 60's was infected, becoming the second case in the state and the first to result in death, after the first confirmed case on Wednesday. Last week, DHS announced that horses in three northwestern counties were confirmed to be infected with the virus. The disease can spread to people through bites from infected mosquitoes. EEE is rare but potentially fatal. It can affect people regardless of their age...