Japan is dealing with another COVID-19 outbreak on a cruise ship
Japan has another cruise ship coronavirus epidemic on its hands — this time among the crew of an Italian vessel docked in Nagasaki.
The Costa Atlantica wasn’t even supposed to be in Japan. The ship had originally contracted to have repairs done in China, but with the COVID-19 pandemic raging, the ship instead sailed in to dock at Mitsubishi Shipbuilding’s Koyagi plant in southwest Japan in late January.
Japanese media said the regional government had asked the ship’s 623 crew to stay on board.
The first infection turned up on April 20, and of the 57 crew members who had close contact with the first patient, 33 have now tested positive. All have mild symptoms, and none are Japanese nationals.
The cluster of infections comes two months after 700 people contracted the virus aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was docked in Yokohama.
California officials say 1st U.S. COVID-19 death was weeks earlier than previously thought
Health officials say two people died with the coronavirus in California weeks before the first reported death in the United States from the disease. Santa Clara County officials said Tuesday the people died at home Feb. 6 and Feb. 17. The first reported death in the nation from the virus was on Feb. 29 in Kirkland, Washington.
The Medical Examiner-Coroner received confirmation Tuesday that tissue samples sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested positive for the virus, officials said.
The announcement came after California Governor Gavin Newsom promised a “deep dive” update Wednesday of the state’s ability to test for the coronavirus and to track and isolate people who have it. That is one of the six indicators he says is key to lifting a “stay-at-home” order that has slowed the spread of the disease while forcing millions of people to file for unemployment benefits.
“This will go to the obvious questions and queries that all of us are asking: When? … When do you see a little bit of a release in the valve so that we can let out a little of this pressure,” Newsom said Tuesday. Click here to read more.
Many with criminal records need not apply for Paycheck Protection Program
Criminal records are shutting some small-business owners out of the Paycheck Protection Program.
It’s supposed to be a lifeline for small businesses, helping them stay afloat and keep employees on the payroll during the coronavirus pandemic.
But government guidelines say businesses are ineligible if anyone who owns at least 20% of the company is incarcerated, under indictment, on probation or parole, or had been convicted of a felony within the last five years.
Would-be applicants and their advocates say the restrictions are a slap in the face for those who have served their time, especially from an administration that has trumpeted second chances. Click here to read more.
New research shows L.A. County’s rate of infection could be 40 times higher than confirmed
In Los Angeles County, more than 15,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19, but health officials announced this week that antibody tests show the rate of infection could be 40 times that number.
Serology tests were used in a study conducted earlier in April by the University of Southern California and the LA County Public Health Department. The tests, which detect antibodies in an individual’s blood to determine if that person had the coronavirus, showed roughly 320,000 people, or about 4% of Los Angeles’ population, have been infected with COVID-19, CBS Los Angeles reports.
Read more here.
Cuomo says New York plans to double testing capacity
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday that the state aims to double coronavirus testing capacity from 20,000 tests per day to 40,000 tests per day.
Cuomo said it will take “several weeks, at best” to make the jump.
“It’s just, in some ways, an outrageous goal,” Cuomo said. “But this is New York, and we’re accustomed to outrageous goals.”
