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Messages - cadence4u

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256
Off-Topic / Re: Sequoia national park
« on: May 30, 2020, 09:56:16 am »Message ID: 1326358
Been there when I was a kid! Love them Trees are HUGE!


257
Off-Topic / Re: Do you really want to go back to work?
« on: May 25, 2020, 03:58:25 pm »Message ID: 1325970
Obviously we need money to live and pay bills but If money were no issue do you really want to go back to work?  I've been on leave but if I had a choice I wouldn't even work.  I don't miss it.

If you don't return to work - your employers will FIRE you

258
Off-Topic / Re: Never experienced anything like this
« on: May 18, 2020, 10:15:19 am »Message ID: 1325289
You can complain to the store manager!

259
Off-Topic / Re: J.C. Penney files for bankruptcy
« on: May 18, 2020, 10:13:16 am »Message ID: 1325287
I use to work for them years ago 2002 - 2005!

Since I left, I notice that JcPenney let several employees go. JcPenney has very little employees staff. I could never find customer service to look for some items!

If the JcPenney properly staff their stores - they can earn their quotas!

260
Off-Topic / Plane graveyard: Hundreds of jets are parked
« on: May 17, 2020, 10:35:58 am »Message ID: 1325160
Plane graveyard: Hundreds of jets are parked in the Arizona desert as coronavirus kills air travel - with many unlikely to ever take to the skies again!

* Pinal Airpark located in the desert in Pinal County, Arizona, is used for storing planes no longer required
* It is home to hundreds of retired commercial and military aircraft - the desert conditions help prevent rusting
* Delta and others have sent planes that are no longer needed there as they drastically reduce operations
* Many of the aircraft early on came from Delta Air Lines. JetBlue has accounted for most of the arrivals in April with Air
   Canada and its low-cost subsidiary, Rouge, having sent about 30 aircraft
* Some older aircraft that were due to be retired in the coming year will now likely not fly ever again
* In the U.S. alone, the numbers of passengers traveling are just 5% what would normally be expected

Stunning aerial pictures show hundreds of aircraft parked in a desert 'boneyard' after airlines including Delta and United placed them in long-term storage as flight operations are cut to around 5% of normal operations due to the coronavirus.

Ranks of jets are seen lined up at Pinal Airpark, 90 miles south of Phoenix, where the dry desert air helps to keep them in good condition and stops them from rusting while they are not being used during the global health crisis.

The 'boneyard' was already home to hundreds of retired commercial and military aircraft but now major airlines have parked up huge amount of their fleets for the foreseeable future.     

Pinal Airpark is the largest commercial aircraft storage facility in the world, but it is not just a parking lot.

Airlines are paying not only for the parking spots and for technicians to ensure that the planes are ready to go should they be needed again.

Many of the aircraft early on in the health crisis came from Delta Air Lines, while JetBlue has accounted for most of the arrivals in April.

Air Canada and its low-cost subsidiary, Rouge, have sent about 30 aircraft.

Canadian airline WestJet had its 737-MAX aircraft stored at the airpark even before the current health crisis, after the entire global fleet was grounded following a pair of horror crashes in 2018 and 2019.

But some older aircraft that were due to be retired in the coming year will now likely not fly ever again, as airlines desperately try to cut costs and save money.

Airlines have been forced to cut back on services due to the coronavirus pandemic, with many countries closing their borders to foreign travelers in unprecedented efforts to flatten the curve of infections.

The demand for travel has plunged worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic, as business and leisure travelers cancel their trips.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been publishing information on how many passengers have passed through US airport checkpoints each day, with a comparison to how many traveled on the same day of the week last year.

In the U.S. alone, the numbers of passengers traveling are just 5% what would normally be expected, meaning there has been a whopping 95% decline travel.

Photos & article:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8327011/Hundreds-planes-parked-Arizona-desert-giant-boneyard-airbase-remain-storage.html

261
Off-Topic / Italy reopens
« on: May 16, 2020, 11:40:29 am »Message ID: 1325078
Italy reopens: Restrictions are eased after three months of lockdown with people free to fly from June 3 and shops set to reopen on Monday!

* Italy will be open to European tourists from June 3 after three-month lockdown
* Regions could also reopen their economy fully under strict safety measures
* Country did not specify which foreign nationals would be allowed to enter Italy
* In a press release, the government said it respected the 'legal order' of the EU

Italy will reopen to European tourists from June 3 and scrap a 14-day mandatory quarantine period, the government said on Saturday, as it accelerated its exit from the coronavirus lockdown.

The move will also apply to countries in the Schengen Area, and comes as the Italian government announced plans to also lift some travel restrictions on people within the country.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte enforced an economically crippling shutdown in early March to counter a pandemic that has so far killed more than 31,500 people in Italy.

The Prime Minister has resisted calls from some regions to open sooner, and has instead lifted measures gradually fearing a second wave of the virus.

From the same date, regions will be allowed to reopen all sectors of the economy, providing strict safety and social distancing measures are observed.

This includes restaurants so long as customers are kept one meter apart, with staff wearing mandatory face masks. Customers will also be required to wear face masks if they are not sitting at tables.

Shops in Italy are set to reopen on May 18, and people will be allowed to move freely within individual regions, allowing people to visit their friends.

Italy is holding off lifting travel restrictions further until after its June 2 Republic Day in an attempt to limit any mass travel over the long holiday weekend.

The shutdown halted all holidaymaking in a country heavily dependent on the tourism industry.

Although Italy never formally closed its borders and has allowed people to cross back and forth for work or health reasons, it banned movement for tourism and imposed a two-week isolation period for new arrivals.

In March, the European Union banned foreign nationals from entering its Schengen zone, an open border zone comprising 22 of 27 member states, with exceptions for medical workers and essential travel.

But on Wednesday, the EU set out plans for a phased restart of summer travel, urging member states to reopen its internal borders, while recommending that external borders remain shut for most travel until at least the middle of June.

In a press release, Italy's government did not explicitly state which foreign nationals would be allowed to enter, but said its new measures respected the 'legal order of the European Union'.

Beginning on June 3, visitors within the Schengen zone will be allowed to enter Italy with no obligation to self-isolate. Italians will also be able to move between regions, though local authorities can limit travel if infections spike.

Movements to and from abroad can be limited by regional decree 'in relation to specific states and territories, in accordance with the principles of adequacy and proportionality to the epidemiological risk', the government said.

The latest decree is also a boon to Italy's agricultural sector, which relies on roughly 350,000 seasonal workers from abroad.

Farming lobby group Coldiretti said farms were already preparing to organise some 150,000 workers from places including Romania, Poland and Bulgaria.

Elsewhere, in France, hundreds of beaches reopened today as residents flocked to seasides for a swim.

There is a strict ban on sunbathing, among other restrictions, as the country eases its lockdown measures after the government gave them the green light to do so.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, visiting a beach in Normandy, warned 'we won't hesitate' to close beaches if rules aren't respected.

Beachgoers can take a dip but cannot lay in the sun or picnic in the sand. Social distancing rules must be maintained and groups must be limited to no more than 10 people.

Some regions, like the Pas de Calais and Le Nord, gave the go-ahead for boats, with restrictions, while those living in Marseille must wait until the start of June to enjoy the 21 beaches in the area.

Beaches in Italy also opened on Saturday, but gatherings of large groups are still banned across the nation.

The peak of Italy's contagion passed at the end of March but with experts warning a second wave cannot be ruled out, Conte had been reluctant to lift the lockdown quickly.

His approach frustrated many of Italy's regions, with some already allowing businesses to reopen before the restrictions were lifted.

Restaurants, bars and hairdressers are being allowed to reopen on Monday, two weeks earlier than initially planned.

Shops will also open and Italians will finally be able to see friends, as long as they live within their same region.

Church services will begin again but the faithful will have to follow social distancing rules and holy water fonts will be empty. Mosques will also reopen.

As of May 16, Italy had recorded 224,760 cases of coronavirus, with 31,763 related deaths.

The number of deaths recorded over the past 24 hours was just 153.

The last time the death count was that low was March 9, the day after the nationwide lockdown was announced.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8325987/Restrictions-eased-Italy-three-months-lockdown-people-free-fly-June-3.html

262
Off-Topic / Autopsy report on Kobe Bryant helicopter crash
« on: May 16, 2020, 10:49:48 am »Message ID: 1325076
Autopsy report on Kobe Bryant helicopter crash victims reveals pilot had no drugs or alcohol in his system, all were killed instantly and Gianna's basketball jersey was found at scene!

* The Los Angeles County coroner's office released the autopsy reports Friday
* The reports confirmed all the crash victims died from blunt trauma
* The clinical and graphic report tells describes broken bones, dismembered body parts and a stench of fuel on what *
   remained of clothing that burned
* The pilot's report confirmed there were no drugs or alcohol in his system
* Kobe Bryant's autopsy revealed the only drug he had in his system was Ritalin

The Los Angeles County coroner's office has released the autopsy reports Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others who were killed in a California helicopter crash in January.

Bryant was headed to his daughter's basketball tournament at his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, California, on the morning of January 26, when the accident occurred 39 minutes after takeoff.

The victims were killed 'rapidly if not instantly' when the helicopter slammed into a hillside, according to autopsies released Friday. Their causes of deaths were listed as blunt trauma.

A National Transportation Safety Board report in February had revealed the helicopter was travelling at 184mph when it hit the hillside according to coroner's report, Ara Zobayan - the pilot - did not have alcohol or drugs in his system.

Also killed were Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife, Keri, and their daughter Alyssa; Christina Mauser, who helped Bryant coach his daughter's basketball team; and Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton. Alyssa and Payton were Gianna´s teammates.

The reports by the Los Angeles County coroner´s office provide a clinical but unvarnished look at just how brutal the crash was, describing broken bones, dismembered body parts and a stench of fuel on what remained of clothing that burned.

The full report is 180 pages long, with 17 pages covering Kobe. It describes injuries to almost his entire body.

The report for Gianna noted that a basketball shirt which carried her number 2 on the back was found at the scene.

Among the drugs the pilot was tested for were benzodiazepines, cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, marijuana, opioids, phencyclidine and amphetamines, according to the autopsy report obtained by DailyMail.com. 

The report on Bryant revealed the only drug in his system was methylphenidate, which is sold under the brand name Ritalin and used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy.

The crash occurred when the helicopter flew into fog. Zobayan climbed sharply to try to get above the clouds, turned left and plunged into a hillside.

Federal authorities are still investigating the accident.

The NTSB released a preliminary report in February, which suggested that the pilot came very close to navigating the unfavorable weather conditions and steering the helicopter out the other side to safety.

It stated the aircraft was only 100 feet away from exiting the heavy cloud and emerging into better visibility.

However, instead of holding off for the short time and continuing to increase altitude, Zobayan appears to have attempted a maneuver moving the aircraft up and forward to quickly clear the clouds, reported aviation expert Mike Sagely.

'When he went into the clouds, he had a full on emergency,' Sagely said.

The pilot then likely made a fatal left turn, sending the aircraft hurtling into the steep terrain at more than 180 mph.

Sagely said that turning during the pop-up maneuver is 'catastrophic . . . 80 to 90 percent of the time.'

The report also details the helicopter pilot's contacts with air traffic control in the lead up to the crash, which support these findings.

The pilot had flown under special conditions lower to the ground while it navigated bad weather, but appeared to be climbing immediately before the crash.

The report states: 'The SCT controller then asked the pilot his intentions, to which he replied he was climbing to 4,000 feet. There were no further transmissions.'

It notes that the helicopter climbed to 1,500 feet above the highway, before beginning a left turn towards its destination.

The report adds: 'Eight seconds later, the aircraft began descending and the left turn continued. The descent rate increased to over 4,000 feet per minute (fpm), ground speed reached 160 knots.'

Investigators stated that the helicopter did not show any signs of engine failure.

They believe that since a tree branch at the crash site was cut, it appears the engines were working and rotors turning at the time of impact.

Kobe's wife, Vanessa Bryant, and surviving relatives of the passengers have sued pilot Zobayan and helicopter charter company Island Express for wrongful death.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8325235/Autopsy-Pilot-Kobe-Bryant-crash-no-alcohol-drugs.html




263
Off-Topic / J.C. Penney files for bankruptcy
« on: May 16, 2020, 10:37:34 am »Message ID: 1325072
J.C. Penney files for bankruptcy and will shutter stores after struggling with debt amid coronavirus closures!

* J.C. Penney has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it was announced Friday
* The company has struggled for years with weak sales and competition from online retailers, discounters and specialty
   chains that squeezed its business
* The 118-year-old company said late Friday it will be shuttering some stores - although it has not announced how many
* CEO Jill Soltau said the decision was made 'to protect the safety of our associates and customers and the future of our
   company'
* Penney is the fourth major retailer to go bankrupt amid the pandemic,  after Neiman Marcus, J.Crew and Stage Stores
 * Many experts are skeptical about Penney´s survival even as it sheds its debt

J.C. Penney has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after  the already struggling department store chain was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

As part of its reorganization, the 118-year-old company said late Friday it will be shuttering some stores - although it has not announced how many.

It said the stores will close in phases throughout the Chapter 11 process and details of the first phase will be disclosed in the coming weeks.

Penney is the fourth major retailer to go bankrupt amid the pandemic.

It is the biggest retailer to file for bankruptcy reorganization, and joins luxury department store chain Neiman Marcus, J.Crew and Stage Stores.

Plenty of other retailers are expected to follow as business shutdowns across the country have evaporated sales. In fact, U.S. retail sales tumbled by a record 16.4% from March to April.

'The coronavirus pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for our families, our loved ones, our communities, and our country,' said Penney's CEO Jill Soltau in a statement.

'As a result, the American retail industry has experienced a profoundly different new reality, requiring J.C. Penney to make difficult decisions in running our business to protect the safety of our associates and customers and the future of our company. '

Many experts are skeptical about Penney´s survival even as it sheds its debt and shrinks the number of its stores.

Its fashion and home offerings haven´t stood out for years. And moreover, its middle-to-low income customers have been the hardest hit by massive layoffs during the pandemic.

Many of them will likely shop more at discounters - if they shop at all, analysts say.

'This is a long, sad story,' said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics, a retail research firm. 'Penney offers no reason to shop there compared to its competitors, whether it´s Macy´s or T.J. Maxx or Walmart. How are they going to survive?'

Penney said that it has $500 million in cash on hand and has received commitments of $900 million in financing to help it operate during the restructuring.

It said that it will be looking at different options, including the sale of the company. The restructuring should reduce several billion dollars of its debt and provide more flexibility to navigate the financial fallout from the pandemic, Penney said.

Like many department stores, Penney is struggling to remain relevant in an era when Americans are buying more online or from discounters.

Sears has now been reduced to a couple hundred stores after being bought by hedge fund billionaire and its former chairman Eddie Lampert in bankruptcy in early 2019.

Barneys New York closed its doors earlier this year and Bon-Ton Stores went out of business in 2018.

The pandemic has just put department stores further in peril as they see their sales evaporate with extended closures. Even as retailers like Penney start to reopen in states like Texas and Florida that have relaxed their lock downs, they´re also facing Herculean challenges in making shoppers feel comfortable to be in public spaces.

In fact, Green Street Advisors, a real estate research firm, predicted in a report last month that more than 50% of all mall-based department stores will close by the end of 2021. It expects that Penney will eventually liquidate its business, noting that a smaller company won't solve its main problems.

Like Sears, J.C. Penney´s troubles were years in the making, marking a slow decline from its glory days during the 1960s through 1980s when it became a key shopping destination at malls for families.

The company´s roots began in 1902 when James Cash Penney started a dry good store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The retailer had focused its stores in downtown areas but expanded into suburban shopping malls as they became more popular starting in the 1960s. With that expansion, Penney added appliances, hair salons and portrait studios.

But since the late 1990s, Penney struggled with weak sales and heavier competition from discounters and specialty chains that were squeezing its business from both ends. Penney´s began flirting with bankruptcy nearly a decade ago when a disastrous reinvention plan spearheaded by then CEO Ron Johnson caused sales to go into free fall.

Johnson drastically cut promotions and brought in hip brands that turned off loyal shoppers. As a result, sales dropped from $17. 3 billion during the fiscal year that ended in early 2012 to $13 billion a year later. Many longtime customers walked away and have not returned. Johnson was fired in April 2013 after just 17 months on the job.

Since then, Penney´s has undergone a series of management changes, each employing different strategies that failed to revive sales. The company based in Plano, Texas, has suffered five straight years of declining sales, which now hover around $11.2 billion. Its shares are trading at less than 20 cents, down from $1.26 a year ago, and from its all-time peak of $81 in 2006.

Soltau has acted swiftly since joining the company in October 2018. She jettisoned from stores major appliances that were weighing down operating profits. That reversed the strategy of her predecessor, Marvin Ellison, who brought appliances to the showroom floor after a 30-year absence in an attempt to capitalize on the troubles of ailing Sears.

Soltau turned the company´s focus back to women´s clothing and goods for the home like towels and bed sheets, which carry higher profit margins. Furniture is still available, but only online.

Still, sales and profits have remained weak. For the fiscal fourth quarter ended Feb. 1, sales at stores opened at least a year dropped 4.7 adjusted for the exit of appliances. Profits were down 64%.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8325231/Pandemic-claims-retailer-J-C-Penney.html

264
Off-Topic / Re: Unemployment and Health Ins
« on: May 12, 2020, 11:47:56 am »Message ID: 1324655
I've been unemployed since 2008, but I have worked for Hickory Farms during Christmas Season.

I don't have any health insurance yet. I trying to get a more permanent job & I will get health insurance!


265
Off-Topic / Re: The Salon Owner from TX has been released from jail
« on: May 07, 2020, 03:38:43 pm »Message ID: 1324035
I hope she gets COVID 19. Open stores too early will get the virus & they will shut it down again!

266
Suggestions / Like A Post
« on: May 07, 2020, 03:35:55 pm »Message ID: 1324034
We need Like a post button!

267
Off-Topic / Re: Did you panic when FC was down?
« on: May 07, 2020, 11:28:31 am »Message ID: 1323973
I wasn't able to login yesterday & FusionCash Daily Cash Email. Today I was able to click on the email for
FusionCash Daily Cash Email for 05/07/2020, but wasn't able to click on the advertisement below and follow the instructions to earn your $0.02 reward.  :( :( :( :(

268
Off-Topic / Re: LA County COVID 19 cases going up!
« on: May 05, 2020, 06:40:54 pm »Message ID: 1323891
Over 800 people have died today!

Over 1500 in cases!

269
Off-Topic / Doctor who treated first US COVID-19 patient warns of second wave ‘as big as the
« on: May 05, 2020, 11:15:26 am »Message ID: 1323850
Doctor who treated first US COVID-19 patient warns of second wave ‘as big as the first' as states ease lockdown and fears US does not have resources to handle it

* Dr George Diaz treated his first COVID-18 patient in Washington state in January
* He used the anti-viral drug remdesivir to quickly treat the now-recovered victim
* Dr Diaz has revealed he is worried about easing shelter-in-place restrictions
* He says a second outbreak of the deadly virus could be just as bad as the first

The doctor who treated the first COVID-19 patient in the United States said yesterday that he fears a second outbreak of the disease when lockdown measures are lifted and doesn't know if the country has the resources to handle it again.

Dr George Diaz treated his first coronavirus patient, diagnosed in January in Washington state, with remdesivir, an experimental anti-viral the US approved for emergency use on Friday. 

Despite the drug's apparent success when the patient recovered Diaz said isolation is still the 'most effective' treatment and he worried 'when the economy starts to reopen, we are going to see a second outbreak that is perhaps as big as the first'.

'The first one was very difficult for us and for the whole world,' Díaz told reporters during a video meeting organized by the State Department.

Since that first case in January, the US has overtaken all other countries to have by far the highest caseload - about 1.2 million - as well as the most deaths, around 69,780.

Despite forecasts of a worsening death toll, some states are already reopening to try to ease the economic strain of lockdown orders that have put more than 30 million Americans out of work in six weeks. 

Remdesivir, made by Gilead Sciences, was shown in a major clinical trial to shorten the time to recovery in some coronavirus patients.

Diaz said that, pending development of a vaccine, remdesivir appears to act against the virus, but he cautioned that the drug must be used very wisely.

It should not be a crutch for people to say, ''I can now do whatever I want because we have a treatment". No,' Diaz warned.

They must continue to follow guidance on social distancing, he said.

On Monday two staggering coronavirus projections were released including a private model by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention pulled together in chart form by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

They said the daily death toll of COVID-19 will reach 3,000 cases daily on June 1.

That number is nearly double the current level of 1,750 deaths a day from the disease.

When asked about the leaked projection, president Donald Trump told the New York Post: 'I think it’s – I think it’s false, I think it’s fake news.'

The White House said that the leaked projection had not been 'presented to the coronavirus task force or gone through interagency vetting.'

Also on Monday The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington (IHME), which is often cited by the White House, released new models that forecast a death toll prediction of 134,475 fatalities by August 4, a major jump from its previous prediction of 72,433 deaths.     

The spikes in the two models are linked to relaxed social distancing measures and increased mobility as states start to reopen businesses.

These projections are considerably higher than previous estimates, representing the combined effects of death model updates and formally incorporating the effect of changes in mobility and social distancing policies into transmission dynamics,' The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington said.

IHME director Dr. Christopher Murray said factors that contribute to the heightened death prediction includes states adding presumptive COVID-19 deaths to their statistics and outbreaks in meatpacking plants across the nation. 

Now, he says, the nation needs to worry about how reopening states might compound those numbers even further. 

'I think the challenge for us all is to figure out what's the trajectory of relaxing social distancing on a measured pace that will protect us from big increases or even a full-scale resurgence,' he said to CNN.

After COVID-19 arrived to the US in January, businesses across the country soon shuttered and the economy began to stagger as confirmed cases – and deaths – spiked at unprecedented levels.

By March, the US had the largest number of infections in the world, even eclipsing China, where the virus originated in the city of Wuhan in December last year. 

In recent weeks, restless state officials have slowly peeled back restrictions, led by Georgia, in response to a number of stay-at-home protests.

The southeastern state took another step towards a full restart by letting all businesses reopen from Friday. Large crowds of people were seen in Atlanta on Sunday as shelter-in-place orders expired and businesses opened.

In Florida, which has seen 1,300 deaths and 36,000 infections among its 21.5 million residents, retailers and restaurants opened their doors at a 25 percent capacity.

While some beaches across parts of the state were allowed to reopen last month, Clearwater Beach in Tampa officially reopened to the public before sunrise on Monday morning.

Police removed 'closed' signs from barricades at 7am to the cheers of the 50 or so people waiting to step on the freshly groomed sand. Clearwater police have a large presence patrolling the beach and are urging people to socially distance.

Cafes along the beach also reopened with eateries allowed to resume dine-in services as long as they have outdoor seating and can ensure appropriate social distancing. 

Medical practices can also resume elective surgeries and procedures as part of the state's phased reopening.   

Movie theaters, bars and fitness clubs will remain closed for now. 

Governor Rick DeSantis has left existing restrictions in place across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties - the three most highly populated in the state.

DeSantis had drawn criticism for waiting until April 2 to clamp down on commerce - after most other states had already done so - in part because of Florida's high proportion of elderly residents - more than a fifth are age 65 and over - who are especially vulnerable to the virus.

But Florida, a key swing electoral swing state, appears to have avoided the worst of the health crisis seen in other states such as New York and New Jersey.

The highest daily number of infections occurred on April 17 with just over 1,400 new cases.

New daily infections have been considerably lower since then and only increased above 1,000 on April 23 and May 1. The highest daily deaths occurred on April 28 with 83 deaths and fatalities appear to be on the decline since then.

The state does not appear to have met all the White House's guidelines for reopening, which include 14 days of declining cases and contact tracers to track infections.   

Health experts are now concerned that warmer weather could prove to be challenging to manage coronavirus as restaurants, hair salons and other businesses reopen across the country. 

In New York City, the warmest weather yet this spring caused picnickers and sunbathers to flock to green spaces in Manhattan, including crowded conditions at the Christopher Street Pier in Greenwich Village.

Last week, California ordered beaches in Orange County to close, after crowds defied public health guidelines to throng the popular shoreline. Police in the county's Huntington Beach said people were complying on Sunday. 

Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA commissioner, said on Sunday the country was seeing a 'mixed bag' of results from coronavirus mitigation efforts.

He said there were about 20 states seeing a rising number of new cases including Illinois, Texas, Maryland, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee. Virginia reported a record number of deaths on Sunday.

'We expected that we would start seeing more significant declines in new cases and deaths around the nation at this point. And we're just not seeing that,' he said on CBS' Face the Nation.

'If we don't snuff this out more and you have this slow burn of infection, it can ignite at any time.'

It comes after the US economy recorded its worst first quarter since the 2008 financial crisis this year, according to new data released on Wednesday which paints a clear picture of the economic havoc the coronavirus pandemic has caused.

A report released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Wednesday morning reveals GDP fell by 4.8 percent annualized between January and March.

Consumer spending fell by 7.6 percent and business investment shrank by 8.6 percent.

The data is not final and in a footnote the bureau said the true picture is likely far worse. Analysts had predicted that GDP might shrink by as much as 3.5 percent.

What Is Remdesivir & Does It Work Against Coronavirus?
Remdesivir was developed by Gilead Sciences to treat Ebola, the deadly hemorrhagic fever that emerged in West Africa in 2014.

Ebola, like COVID-19, is caused by a virus, and scientists are now testing remdesivir to treat coronavirus patients, but it's too soon to know if the drug works or not. 

Remdesivir produced encouraging results earlier this year when it showed promise for both preventing and treating MERS - another coronavirus - in macaque monkeys.

The drug appears to help stop the replication of viruses like coronavirus and Ebola alike.

It's not entirely clear how the drug accomplishes this feat, but it seems to stop the genetic material of the virus, RNA, from being able to copy itself.

That, in turn, stops the virus from being able to proliferate further inside the patient's body. 

NIH researchers in charge of the macaque study recommended that it move ahead to human trials with the new coronavirus.

Scientists have listened, and human trials for remdesivir first began in Nebraska.

Most recently, researchers trialing the drug at the University of Chicago reported that most of the 125 COVID-19 patients they'd teated with the drug had been discharged from the hospital, according to Stat News.

Two patients died over the course of the trial.

270
Off-Topic / Pfizer gives first doses of experimental vaccine to 'young and healthy' American
« on: May 05, 2020, 10:54:44 am »Message ID: 1323843
Pfizer gives first doses of experimental vaccine to 'young and healthy' Americans - and promises 20 million doses by the end of the year

* Pfizer announced Tuesday that the first volunteers gotten doses of its experimental coronavirus vaccines
* 360 healthy Americans will be recruited, with various doses going first to young adults ages 18-55, and later to seniors
* If proven safe, Pfizer said it could make 20 million doses by the end of the year

Pfizer has begun dosing Americans with its experimental coronavirus vaccines for its clinical trial in collaboration with BioNTech SE, the pharmaceutical giant announced Tuesday.

The US drugmaker and German partner said if the vaccine proves to be safe and effective in trials, it could potentially be ready for wide US distribution by the end of the year, shaving several years off the typical vaccine development timeline.

The vaccine, which uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, has the potential to be among the first vaccines against the virus that has infected more than 1 million people in the United States and killed some 68,000.

Pfizer joined the race to make a coronavirus vaccine late, but hopes that with its trial in 360 healthy volunteers, it can speed ahead and have more than 20 million doses ready by year-end - if the shot proves safe. 

There are currently no approved treatments or vaccines for the new coronavirus, though some drugs are being used on patients under an emergency use authorization.

The US study is part of a broader, global program already underway in Germany, where BioNTech is based. Dosing there began last month.

Moderna Inc is using similar technology for its vaccine being developed along with the US government. Phase I testing of that vaccine candidate has also begun, with mid-stage trials planned in the current quarter.

Pfizer said last week it hopes to receive emergency authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as early as October, and could distribute up to 20 million doses by the end of 2020, with an eye toward producing hundreds of millions of doses next year.

'Even going from a few million to 20 million will allow you to protect the epicenters of the virus, and then drive out the virus from our society as we ramp up to hundreds of millions,' Pfizer research chief Mikael Dolsten told Reuters in an interview.

Using synthetic mRNA technology can enable the vaccine to be developed and manufactured more quickly than traditional vaccines, the companies said.

Pfizer said last week it expects to make safety data on the vaccine available by late May.

The trial will initially aim to test different dosing regimens of four potential vaccine candidates on around 360 healthy volunteers divided into a younger cohort and a group of seniors.

The trial will expand to more subjects after researchers determine which compounds and dosing regimens are most effective, said Kirsten Lyke, a director at the University of Maryland's Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health, which is participating in the trial.

Doses have already been administered to some volunteers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Pfizer plans to expand the trial to sites across the United States in early July, and may ultimately enroll more than 8,000 participants, a company spokeswoman said.

If successful, the U.S. clinical trial would be one of the fastest ever progressions of a vaccine from early stage studies to regulatory approval, compressing a development process that often takes as much as a decade to just over nine months.

'This is the equivalent of doing phases one, two and three of a typical clinical trial but all compressed into the May through October time frame,' Lyke said.

BioNTech is producing the vaccine for the trials in its European manufacturing facilities.

Pfizer is investing in developing its own manufacturing capacity for the vaccine, and is preparing sites in Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri and Belgium to begin producing it.

Both companies will jointly commercialize the vaccine, if approved. (Reporting by Carl O'Donnell and Michael Erman in New York; editing by Bill Berkrot)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-8288281/Pfizer-BioNTech-set-begin-U-S-coronavirus-vaccine-trial.html

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