Dr. Stuart Weiss: COVID-19 Update Wednesday 26-August-2020
Dr. Stuart Weiss, FACEP, FAAP, CBCP
August 25, 2020
Today’s topics: Another bad CoViD-19 move from the Trump Administration
| CDC releases new testing criteria The Center for Disease Control (CDC) released new guidance related to who should get tested for CoViD-19. They actually said that people who are not symptomatic should not be tested for CoViD-19 EVEN IF they have been recently exposed to the virus. The new guidelines say that people who have been in close contact with an infected person do not necessarily need a test if they have no symptoms. This guidance was published by the CDC but apparently was not written by the CDC. Instead, it was apparently written by the White House coronavirus task force and according to the New York Times article, were imposed on the CDC. The final debate took place in the task force on the very day that Dr. Fauci was out having surgery. Dr. Fauci had expressed concerns about limiting testing. This guidance completely ignores that much of the recent spread of the virus is thought to be happening from asymptomatic people. You may recall that President Trump said that we should be doing less testing to keep our case numbers down. This is one way to accomplish that goal. This is incorrect thinking because it is not the total case numbers that matter its the percentage of positive tests that matters. If you do more testing you get more positives AND negatives. Many pandemic experts, including me, have called the revisions alarming and dangerous.We need more testing, not less. I fear that we will be seeing many actions taken before the election that do not make sense medically but try to score political points. This is one of those actions. Be well and take care of yourself. There are storm clouds and asteroids on the horizon.- -Dr. Stu |
COVID-19 HEADLINES FOR TODAY
| Coronavirus update for August 26, 2020 World Wide Updates Kenya eases Covid-19 restrictions as hotspots begin to “stabilize” World Economic Forum in Davos rescheduled to summer 2021 due to coronavirus India approves first nationally made Covid-19 test Spanish students announce country-wide strike over back to school conditions The Pope will resume public audiences from next week Berlin bans planned coronavirus protests India says it’s in touch with Russia over coronavirus vaccine Sputnik-V Overall crime dropped sharply in England and Wales during lockdown, new figures show Czech Republic aims to balance risks of school reopening by making masks mandatory again Germany reports increase in coronavirus infections from abroad UK government makes a U-turn on face masks in English schools New Zealand reports 5 new coronavirus cases India has recorded more than 1.5 million new coronavirus cases in August alone More than 1,300 healthcare workers have died from Covid-19 in Mexico Brazil reports more than 47,000 new Covid-19 cases Phil Hogan resigns as EU trade chief after Ireland trip furore France report 5,429 new coronavirus infections, new post-lockdown high Italy hits new record in daily cases since May Croatia reports record daily rise in infections amid summer tourist season Russia prepares to approves second vaccine Belgium death toll revised down Total Cases Worldwide: 24,243,390 Total Deaths Worldwide: 827,065 Total Recovered: 16,735,201 US Updates Trump’s testing czar says coronavirus task force experts weighed in on CDC guideline change Expert says new CDC guidelines on testing is the “wrong move” New Jersey gyms and indoor amusement facilities can reopen next week at 25% capacity, governor says Louisiana will remain in phase 2 of reopening in part due to Hurricane Laura, governor says Moderna says vaccine data shows it is well tolerated across all age groups Florida reports more than 3,200 new Covid-19 cases and 153 additional deaths Airbnb will let employees work from home through August 2021 Georgia state legislators “urge” Gov. Kemp to issue a statewide mask mandate Bed Bath & Beyond is laying off 2,800 employees Arizona State University sues Facebook over “Covid party” Instagram account it says is linked to Russia Updated CDC guidelines now say people exposed to coronavirus may not need to be tested FDA head still trying to clarify misleading comments on experimental convalescent plasma therapy for Covid-19 Covid-19 cases among US children increased by 21% in just two weeks More than 9,000 Florida children test positive for coronavirus in two weeks since schools reopened More than 100 coronavirus cases in 8 states linked to South Dakota motorcycle rally ‘Political propaganda’: Cuomo says N.Y. will not follow fed scaled-back coronavirus guidance Don’t argue with anti-mask shoppers, CDC says in guidance to retail employees Total US cases: 5,990,347 Total US deaths: 183,315 Total Recovered: 3,271,382 Total Tested in US: 73,535,820 Total cases in CA: 685,093 Total deaths in CA: 12,466 Total cases in TX: 617,729 Total deaths in TX: 12,090 Total cases in FL: 608,722 Total deaths in FL: 10,735 Total cases in NY: 462,122 Total deaths in NY: 32,984 |
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