Rapper 2 Chainz hands out meals to Atlanta's homeless
Rapper 2 Chainz handed out meals to homeless people at his Atlanta restaurant Escobar on Monday.
2 Chainz, born Tauheed Epps, grew up in College Park, a mostly black city in Georgia.
A video clip posted to his Instagram and Twitter accounts Monday showed a line of people maintaining a social distance outside of the restaurant.
A plan announced last week by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp allowed restaurants to resume dine-in service, and movie theaters and other entertainment venues to reopen Monday.
2 Chainz said in an Instagram post that his restaurant would only be open for takeout.
Grim milestone: Total number of U.S. coronavirus cases hits 1 million
The total number of coronavirus cases in the United States reached 1 million on Tuesday afternoon, according to a tally compiled by NBC News.
The number stood at 1,00,037 just before 1:30 p.m. ET Tuesday. In all, 57,071 have died in the U.S.
Pennsylvania announces over 1K additional coronavirus cases
The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced 1,214 additional coronavirus cases as of Tuesday, bringing the statewide total to 43,264.
Every county in the state is under a stay-at-home order until May 8.
Pennsylvania has seen 1,716 deaths. To date, 165,824 patients have tested negative.
Quest to offer direct-to-consumer antibody tests
Quest Diagnostics announced Tuesday that its coronavirus antibody tests be will available without a visit to a doctor’s office first. The company started offering antibody tests on April 21, but patients first needed to visit a doctor, who would prescribe the test.
Consumers who would like a test can sign up through QuestDirect, an online service that asks individuals a series of questions to determine if they qualify. Each request is reviewed, and if appropriate, an order for the test is issued by a licensed physician. Individuals can then make an appointment at one of Quest’s nationwide labs, where they will be tested. (Quest's antibody test is not an at-home test.)
Patients will be able to speak to a physician about their results. It’s important to note that it’s unclear at this point whether a positive antibody test means that an individual is immune to the coronavirus. A positive test can indicate whether a person has been infected at some point in the past.
Quest will be sharing the data collected from its antibody testing with government agencies in an effort to provide a more clear picture of how many people in the U.S. have had the coronavirus.
Fauci says coronavirus-like outbreak 'what keeps me up at night'
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said Tuesday that the unique qualities of the “unprecedented” novel coronavirus that helped it “explode” into a global pandemic represent the kind of nightmarish scenario that keeps him up at night.
“What keeps me up at night is the emergence of a brand new infection, likely jumping species from an animal, that's respiratory born, highly transmissible, with a high degree of morbidity and mortality. And, lo and behold, that's where we are right now,” Fauci said during a live-streamed interview Tuesday with The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. "And the reason it's so unprecedented, it exploded upon us."
“Everyone is at risk,” the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said. “With this, everyone seems vulnerable, with a disease that's highly transmissible.”
Senate Dems call on Trump admin to extend work authorizations for DACA, TPS recipients
Senate Democrats are calling on the Trump administration to extend work authorizations for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and those with Temporary Protected Status.
"We're joining forces to demand that the Trump administration extend the work authorizations for the over 130,000 TPS holders and 200,000 DACA recipients, many of whom are serving on the front lines in the battle against COVID-19," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., during a press conference call with Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., along with a group of immigrants.
Schumer added, "These hard-working members of our community must receive automatic extensions of their work authorizations, so they don't fall out of status and lose their protections in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis."
The senators said that the administration is "hell-bent" on ending the programs for these immigrants threatening them with the possibility of deportation. They noted that court decisions on DACA and TPS are pending.
Doctors Without Borders provides assistance in U.K. for first time
The medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders has started providing medical assistance in the United Kingdom for the first time since it was founded in 1971.
A team of eleven staff members are providing nursing and logistics support at the London Covid Care Centre, the organization said Tuesday.
The project, which is run in partnership with the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, provides rapid testing, accommodation in which to self-isolate and medical care for members of the homeless community with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, the group said.
The center, which opened earlier this month, has the capacity to host 60 residents and as of Tuesday was treating 10 people, it added.
Reversing course, House won't return to D.C. next week because of coronavirus threat
A day after announcing that the House would reconvene in Washington next week, House Democrats reversed course and announced Tuesday that lawmakers will not be returning to the Capitol after all because of the coronavirus threat.
“We made a judgement that we will not come back next week,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said in a phone call with reporters.
Hoyer said he spoke with the House physician late Monday about the decision. The majority leader cited a rising number of coronavirus cases in the Washington metropolitan area.
“We will not come back next week, but we hope to come back very soon to consider CARES 2 legislation,” Hoyer said, referring to the next round of major coronavirus relief legislation, which would mirror the $2 trillion package signed into law in late March.
Fauci praises Brad Pitt's 'SNL' impersonation: 'He did a great job'
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, offered an exceptionally positive diagnosis Tuesday for actor Brad Pitt’s imitation of him on "Saturday Night Live" this weekend.
“I think he did a great job,” Fauci said.
“He got the raspiness of my voice right. … He got the hand gestures right,” the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said during a live-streamed interview Tuesday with The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.
Fauci suggested, however, that Pitt could perhaps improve upon one element of his imitation.
Goya donates 300,000 pounds of food, 20,000 protective masks
Goya Foods has donated more than 300,000 pounds of food and 20,000 masks in recent weeks, and plans to continue donating additional food and gear weekly, the company said Tuesday.
Food donations have been made to food banks and organizations in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, and Illinois.
“As an essential business, our Goya teams are working 24/7 to meet the overwhelming demand for food and ensure that supermarket shelves nationwide are stocked with nourishing products, while also providing food to communities who are food insecure or not able to get to supermarkets,” Bob Unanue, President of Goya Foods, said in a news release.
Goya Foods, headquartered in Jersey City, N.J., is the country’s largest Hispanic-owned food company.