virus news … (+ some dark humor)

In Florida, which breaks records for new cases nearly every day, the median age of residents testing positive for the virus has dropped to 35, down from 65 in March.@juliebosman and @smervosh on the virus and the youngs https://t.co/t7gCg60CwB

— Patricia Mazzei (@PatriciaMazzei) June 26, 2020

In the middle of a pandemic, Trump just asked the Supreme Court to take away health insurance from 20 million Americans and eliminate protections for people with pre-existing conditions, like Covid. https://t.co/jSoGhRl33X

— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) June 26, 2020

Here was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis a month ago puffing out his chest about 'successfully' ignoring public health experts. pic.twitter.com/f2epgxe4lI

— Matt Rogers 🎙️ (@Politidope) June 26, 2020

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Oops… https://t.co/itj446QqJp

— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) June 27, 2020

6 new york city cops crammed into an already crowded store, none wearing masks (properly), on a corner (myrtle/bway) w/ tons of vulnerable ppl. when asked why none responded except for the bald one who said he already had it & thus doesn't care. these are your ppl @NYCMayor pic.twitter.com/jOSP4Qhyh7

— jordansarge (@jordansarge) June 23, 2020

from Roughly half the Twitter accounts pushing to ‘reopen America’ are bots, researchers found

https://www.businessinsider.com/nearly-half-of-reopen-america-twitter-accounts-are-bots-report-2020-5?fbclid=IwAR0T3LSAa_VE4VImsuELAS_32Kv6eiqpD_aq40PhEovGJ2w054f0b432X-k

There’s been a surge in bot activity in the past month in online discussions about reopening America from COVID-19 shutdowns, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University said this week.
The researchers analyzed over 200 million tweets discussing COVID-19 and found that roughly half the accounts were likely bots.
They identified the bots by looking for accounts that tweeted more frequently than humanly possible or whose location appeared to rapidly switch among different countries.
It’s unclear who’s behind the surge in bot activity or whether they’re originating from the US or abroad.

Paris is showing the world how to practice social distancing. What can be better than sharing your table with giant teddy bears!
H/t @Soma_G pic.twitter.com/qm0WqJdZvC

— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) June 27, 2020

"They’re sick. They’re very sick. The question is, will they ever be the same?” @LaurenCaruba & @photodado's reporting inside COVID ICUs in San Antonio has been timely, courageous and deeply revelatory. Their latest. @mindstuff https://t.co/7e703j6Qlp

— Marc Duvoisin (@MarcDuvoisin) June 28, 2020

Fauci Says U.S. Could See 100,000 New Cases a Day If No Change
Hospitalizations on the rise in 12 states, CDC’s Redfield says

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-30/fda-issues-vaccine-guidance-as-fauci-balances-hope-with-realism?fbclid=IwAR37udPun5bgNCXNMwJ4FEITCl4QqAPqmxLFy0zp_leBE264vG-Bqu758gE

this is big, the first direct quote from the virus. https://t.co/dSDOCPGmi4

— Sarah Parcak (@indyfromspace) July 1, 2020

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says Dr. Anthony Fauci ‘doesn’t know what he’s talking about’
https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-lt-gov-dan-patrick-dr-fauci-coronavirus-covid19/269-b9b8eb4e-e322-4230-96a9-aa5bc549c3e0?fbclid=IwAR3gjHEeCIblRp_RY3meGhmn9eRE-ZTGtMN9WjGjOCWx37H_Jqo_qSg5jIM

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I had Covid-19 in February and still have the cough today, July 2, after four courses of steroids & adding an inhaled one permanently for maintenance. Please stop acting like death is the only possible adverse outcome of Covid-19. (Not that we should downplay 130k deaths, either) https://t.co/FvooflhGEU

— Jeañña Kelley (@jeannathomas) July 2, 2020

SOURCES:

Protesting in the time of COVID-19
link https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/protesting-in-the-time-of-covid-19-2020070120541

Will Protests Cause COVID-19 to Skyrocket? North Texas Doctors Weigh In.
https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/george-floyd-protests-coronavirus-surge-dallas-11923439

Research Determines Protests Did Not Cause Spike In Coronavirus Cases
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/07/01/research-determines-protests-did-not-cause-spike-in-coronavirus-cases/#68cb22907dac

Black Lives Matter protests did not cause an uptick in covid-19 cases
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/06/30/black-lives-matter-protests-did-not-cause-an-uptick-in-covid-19-cases

Experts say bars, not protests, are driving COVID-19 spike
https://www.fox13news.com/video/734598

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SOME QUOTATIONS FROM THOSE SOURCES:

What Minnesota’s Protests Are Revealing About Covid-19 Spread
<em.After George Floyd’s killing, experts warned that demonstrations could set off new waves of infections. But early testing in Minneapolis tells another story.
https://www.wired.com/story/what-minnesotas-protests-are-revealing-about-covid-19-spread/

Dr. Monique Tello, clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School

we now have data showing that the COVID-19 infection rate among protesters has been remarkably low….A recent study of contact tracing for new infections showed that most transmissions occurred between people interacting indoors for 15 minutes or more. Analysis of 28 COVID-19 “superspreading events” around the globe revealed commonalities: all were indoors, and involved people without masks talking face-to-face, singing, or sharing a meal.

“For the most part, we’re not going to see a big increase [in cases] because people are wearing masks and they’re being held outside,” said Dr. Eric Bing, professor of global health at Southern Methodist University.

Dr. Philip Huang, the director of Dallas County Health and Human Services…it’s unlikely the protests alone caused Dallas County’s infections to skyrocket, Huang said.

, the National Bureau of Economic Research released a study that debunks the notion that the demonstrations would deliver a deluge of cases. Its authors found “no evidence that urban protests reignited COVID-19 case growth” in the 315 U.S. cities they surveyed. In part, this is because protesters were vigilant in wearing masks, the authors state.

Dr. Joseph Chang, chief medical officer at Parkland Health & Hospital System: ” When two people wear masks standing next to one another, the chance of transmissibility is less than 1%”.

Protests against systemic racism held in 300-plus U.S. cities following the death of George Floyd did not cause a significant increase in coronavirus infections, according to a team of economists who have published their findings in a 60-page paper released by the National Bureau of Economic Research; these somewhat surprising results are supported by Covid-19 testing data in many populous cities where demonstrations were held.

Florida does extensive contact tracing to figure out where people who tested positive have been before they got sick. And the state’s health experts are finding a clear pattern — it’s not leading back to the outdoor protests; it’s leading to indoor places where young adults go to hang out and party.

Of the 3,200 people tested so far at the four popup sites across the metro, 1.8 percent have tested positive for Covid-19, says s Kristen Ehresmann, the Minnesota Department of Health director of infectious disease.. HealthPartners, one of the largest health care providers in Minnesota, also reported to the state that it had tested about 8,500 people who indicated that attendance at a mass gathering was the reason they wanted a test. Among them, 0.99 percent tested positive. These numbers have been one of the few pleasant surprises since the outbreak began, says Ehresmann. “Right now, with the data available to us, it appears there was very little transmission at protest events,” she says.