University of Michigan students told to stay home due to Covid-19 variant
University of Michigan students were told to stay home by county authorities Wednesday, in hopes of curbing the spread of a contagious coronavirus variant.
The Washtenaw County Health Department's recommendation means nearly all classes at the Ann Arbor campus will be likely be remote until at least Feb. 7.
"Students are being asked to remain at their campus-area addresses and to not gather with others outside of their household members," according to a health department statement.
"Students are permitted to leave their residence only to participate in limited activities, including in-person classes, work or research that cannot be completed remotely, obtaining food and medical care and other approved activities."
WHO team in Wuhan for Covid origins study leaves quarantine
WUHAN, China — A World Health Organization team emerged from quarantine in the Chinese city of Wuhan on Thursday, to begin field work in a fact-finding mission on the origins of the Covid-19 virus.
The researchers, who were required to complete 14 days in quarantine after arriving in China, left their hotel and boarded a bus in the midafternoon.
The mission has become politically charged as China seeks to avoid blame for alleged missteps in its early response to the outbreak.
A major question is where the Chinese side will allow the researchers to go and whom they will be able to talk to.
Yellow barriers blocked the entrance to the hotel, keeping the media at a distance. Before the researchers boarded, workers in full protective gear could be seen loading their luggage onto the bus. The driver wore a full-body white protective suit and the researchers wore masks.
U.S. is in a 'race against time' with new coronavirus variants, scientists warn
The United States is in a race against time to vaccinate as many people as possible before other potentially more worrisome variants of the coronavirus emerge, according to experts.
Vaccination efforts in the U.S. have been hamstrung by delivery issues, insufficient supply and hesitancy to get the shots. But to avert another surge of infections, hospitalizations and deaths, scientists say it may be necessary to rethink how the vaccines are rolled out to ramp up the number of shots administered and to protect against new strains of the virus.
"We really are in a race against new variants," said Wan Yang, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. "We need to prepare as much as possible before things increase to a level that puts more strain on our health care systems."
South Dakota has successful vaccination program but high infection rate
South Dakota has one of the highest Covid-19 infection rates in the country, but it’s also got one of the most successful vaccination programs in the land.
So far, health workers have been able to administer 82,823 doses, a rate of 9,362 per 100,000 people, that is seventh best in the country, according to the latest federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
And the reason it’s been so successful is because South Dakota already has a well-established vaccination program in place, said Victor Huber, a biomedical sciences professor at the University of South Dakota.
“Since South Dakota has an excellent infrastructure in place for delivering vaccines, this is an example of our state benefitting from those efforts being applied to the delivery of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines,” Huber said in an email to NBC News. “This is a good sign for our state moving forward.”
South Dakota, which has a population of just 885,000, has a Covid-19 infection rate of 27.18 percent, which is the sixth worst in the country, according to Johns Hopkins University. The state has recorded 107,608 cases and 1,739 deaths due to Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to NBC News data.
Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican and ardent Trump supporter, has been harshly criticized for her hands-off approach to the pandemic by the public health establishment but remains popular with voters in the conservative state.
Miami Heat to welcome back fans with help of Covid-sniffing dogs
The Miami Heat will have fans in the stands Thursday night for the first time in months with the help of some particularly fast and accurate Covid-19 detectors — virus-sniffing dogs.
Ticket holders will be screened by Covid-19 detection dogs when they arrive at America Airlines Arena for the 8 p.m. game against the Los Angeles Clippers, officials said on the team's website.
The dogs will walk past each fan upon arrival, according to a video posted to the site. If a dog sits down, the dog is indicating that it has detected the virus, and the person and their party will not be allowed in the arena.
The Heat website specifies that the Covid-sniffing dogs have been specifically trained to identify the virus and won't sit down in the presence of someone who has simply been vaccinated.
Lebanon's coronavirus lockdown stokes hunger, fear among desperate families
Shadia has run out of rice for her family of nine.
The Syrian mother had hoped the 5 kilos she bought last week would be enough to feed them for the duration of the draconian national lockdown that Lebanon imposed Jan. 14 in response to surging coronavirus case numbers.
More than a week later, however, little food is left in the family's single-room bungalow. A 24-hour curfew is in place, with residents allowed outside only for what are officially deemed "emergencies." Supermarkets across the country are closed.
The lockdown, which initially had been scheduled to last 11 days, has now been extended until Feb. 8, leaving Shadia, 33, and her husband frantic about how their family will survive. In addition to the lack of food, the terra cotta roof of their home has collapsed, leaving the family to huddle together on the floor under blankets to stay warm.
Fauci: Covid-19 vaccine rollout must prioritize people of color
The U.S. Covid-19 vaccine rollout must account for the virus' disproportionate impact on people of color, Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an interview with the New England Journal of Medicine.
"I think that's the one thing we really got to be careful of," Fauci, who is the president's chief medical advisor as well as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said. "We don't want in the beginning that most of the people who are getting it are otherwise, well, middle-class white people."
Fauci's comments come amid a reported distrust in the medical community among racial minorities in the U.S. Triggered by a dark history of medical experimentation and less access to care, people in Black and Latino communities struggling with high Covid-19 rates are among those least likely to get vaccinated, according to health advocates.
"You absolutely have to respect the hesitancy of the minority population. They keep coming back and saying the history of Tuskegee," Fauci added, referring to the infamous 1932 experiment, in which the U.S. government denied African-American men treatment for syphilis and documented how the disease destroyed their bodies for nearly four decades in Alabama.
Michael Strahan tests positive for Covid-19, but 'feeling well'
ABC News' "Good Morning America" host Michael Strahan tested positive for Covid-19, the show said in an announcement on Thursday.
Strahan's co-hosts explained his absence this week at the top of the show, saying he contracted the coronavirus, but was "feeling well."
"He wanted us to let you know that he has tested positive for Covid. He's at home quarantining right now," co-host Robin Roberts said.
Coanchor George Stephanopoulos added that the former professional football player sent his gratitude for the well wishes and clarified that all staff and crew members were cleared to be on the show. Last April, Stephanopoulos and his wife were diagnosed with Covid-19.
U.S. counts fewer than 200,000 daily cases for 10th day in a row
Wednesday the U.S. counted 3,846 reported deaths and 153,439 new Covid-19 cases, according to NBC News' tally.
This was the 10th day in a row that case counts have numbered less than 200,000.
In the last week, the U.S. averaged 3,336 deaths and 166,045 cases per day. Four weeks ago the U.S. averaged 2,653 deaths and 229,991 cases per day.
As of Thursday morning, the country registered 25.7 million cases and 430,759 deaths total.
These states set single-day records Wednesday:
- Alabama, 276 dead
- Oklahoma, 65 dead