Month: October 2020

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday said COVID-19 can spread through virus lingering in the air, sometimes for hours, acknowledging concerns widely voiced by public health experts about airborne transmission of the virus. The CDC guidance comes weeks after the agency published – and then took down – a similar warning, sparking debate over how the virus spreads. In Monday’s guidance, CDC said there was evidence that people with COVID-19 possibly infected others who were more than 6 feet away, within enclosed spaces with poor ventilation. Under such circumstances, CDC said scientists believe the amount of infectious, smaller droplet and particles, or aerosols, produced by people with COVID-19 become concentrated enough to spread the virus. The CDC has long warned of transmission through small droplets that shoot through the air and generally fall to the ground, which resulted in the six-feet social distancing rule. Aerosol droplets are much smaller and can remain suspended in the air, like smoke. While CDC stresses close-contact transmission is more common than through air, a group of U.S. scientists warned in an unrelated open letter published in medical journal Science on Monday that aerosols lingering in the air could be a major source of COVID-19 transmission. “The reality is airborne transmission is the main way that transmission happens at close range with prolonged contact,” the researchers said in a press call. Viruses in aerosols can remain in the air for seconds to hours, travel more than 2 meters and accumulate in poorly ventilated indoor air, leading to superspreading …

The list of treatments President Donald Trump has received for his coronavirus infection range from experimental to over the counter. Here are the four most notable.  Antibody therapy Trump received an infusion of antibodies on Friday, the White House said. These germ-blocking proteins aim to prevent the coronavirus from entering cells and causing infection. Our immune systems normally make antibodies on their own, but it can take weeks for them to appear in response to a new infection such as the coronavirus. Injecting lab-grown antibodies offers a shortcut. Drugmaker Regeneron produced the dual-antibody cocktail Trump received. The therapy is experimental and has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Trump received it through the company’s “compassionate use” program, which Regeneron said is “intended for patients with serious or life-threatening conditions who do not have any viable or available treatment options.”  The product is one of two antibody therapies undergoing late-stage clinical trials. Both Regeneron and the other product’s manufacturer, Eli Lilly, recently announced encouraging results in press releases, but their data have not been reviewed by other experts.  “It’s, I think, a promising therapy. It’s not proven,” said Rajesh Gandhi, an infectious diseases physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Gandhi helped write COVID-19 treatment guidelines for the National Institutes of Health and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Remdesivir While antibody therapy is being tested for patients with mild disease, Trump received an antiviral drug on Saturday that is normally given to patients in worsening condition and which was originally developed …

European Commission Chair Ursula von der Leyen said Monday that she will self-isolate after learning she was exposed last week to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.  Von der Leyen was in Portugal’s capital, Lisbon on September 29, where she attended several meetings and met with various Portuguese officials.In a message posted on Twitter Monday, the head of the European Union’s executive branch said she was told one of those meetings was attended by “a person who yesterday (Sunday) tested positive.”   In subsequent tweet Monday, von der Leyen said her latest test came back negative, but added she would continue isolating until Tuesday evening.    Her isolation will keep her close to work: She has a small living quarters next to her office in the EU headquarters in Brussels.Two weeks ago, EU Council President Charles Michel was forced to postpone a summit of EU leaders because he was quarantining. …

The 2020 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to scientists Harvey J. Alter and Charles M. Rice of the United States and Michael Houghton of Britain for their “seminal discoveries” into the identification of Hepatitis C virus. The three scientists “have made a decisive contribution to the fight against blood-borne hepatitis, a major global health problem that causes cirrhosis and liver cancer in people around the world,” the Nobel committee said in a statement.The advances have helped lead to new ways treating and curing Hepatitis C.“The discovery of Hepatitis C virus revealed the cause of the remaining cases of chronic hepatitis” after the discoveries of Hepatitis A and B viruses, “and made possible blood tests and new medicines that have saved millions of lives,” the statement said.Born in 1935 in New York, Harvey Alter graduated with a medical degree at the University of Rochester Medical School. Alter worked for a long time as a senior investigator at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.Michael Houghton was born in Britain in the 1950s.  He received his doctorate degree in virology at King’s College London. Houghton is currently a Canada Excellence Research Chair in Virology at the University of Alberta, among other titles and accolades.Born in 1952 in Sacramento, California, Charles Rice received his doctorate degree in 1981 from the California Institute of Technology. He has also worked at Washington University School of Medicine as a researcher and professor. He joined the Rockefeller University in New York and from 2001 to …

The World Health Organization says roughly one in 10 people around the world may have been infected with the coronavirus.  The head of the health emergencies program at the World Health Organization, Michael Ryan, said Monday that the agency’s “best estimates” indicate 10 percent of the world’s population could have contracted the virus.  That estimate, which would amount to more than 760 million people, is more than 20 times the number of confirmed cases in the world and would still leave more than 90 percent of the population susceptible to the virus. Speaking to a special session of the WHO’s 34-member executive board in Geneva, Ryan said the figures vary between countries but the estimate means “the vast majority of the world remains at risk,” adding that “we are now heading into a difficult period.” The number of confirmed worldwide cases tallied by the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center surpassed 35 million Monday, a week after surpassing 1 million coronavirus deaths. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seen outside the BBC headquarters, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in London, October 4, 2020.Several European nations hit their own pandemic milestones with Germany reporting Monday its total confirmed cases exceed 300,000, Britain recording 500,000 cases, and Spain becoming the first European country to surpass 800,000 total coronavirus cases. In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson sought on Monday to play down a failure in his country’s testing data system that did not initially show 16,000 coronavirus test results. “To be frank, I think that the slightly …

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany says she has tested positive for COVID-19.“After testing negative consistently, including every day since Thursday, I tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday morning while experiencing no symptoms.” McEnany announced on Twitter.pic.twitter.com/SKT9xq8rqs— Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) October 5, 2020She added that she had no knowledge of the positive test of Hope Hicks, an adviser to President Donald Trump, before holding a press briefing last Thursday. Hicks’ positive test was revealed Thursday evening.Trump announced Friday morning that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19. He was later taken to Walter Reed Medical Center for treatment. McEnany said she will “begin the quarantine process” and continue to work remotely. …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday there would be “tough times ahead” for businesses, as another international company announced it was suspending operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Johnson spoke with reporters as it was announced that Cineworld will temporarily close 127 theaters in Britain and 536 theaters in its U.S. Regal movie theater chain following news that the latest James Bond film will be postponed again.The closings will affect 40,000 employees in the United States and 5,000 in Britain.Johnson, while encouraging people to support their local movies theaters, said that despite government efforts to support jobs impacted by the pandemic, “clearly there are going to be tough times ahead.” He encouraged people to support their local movie houses that observe COVID-safe practices. Johnson also acknowledged that more than 15,000 coronavirus cases had been missed and not been transferred into the computer database due to a technical glitch. He said the cases, which were all positive between Sept. 25 and Oct. 2, and their contacts had been identified once the error was discovered.Johnson said the current infection rate in Britain was “pretty much where we thought we were,” and the next few days would tell whether the extra restrictions put in place in several parts of the country were working.He said if people followed the measures put in place in their areas, the so-called “rule of six” — limiting gatherings to six or less — self-isolation following contact, masks and hand-washing, he had “no doubt that we will be able to …

The 2020 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to scientists Harvey J. Alter and Charles M. Rice of the United States and Michael Houghton of Britain for their “seminal discoveries” into the identification of Hepatitis C virus. The three scientists “have made a decisive contribution to the fight against blood-borne hepatitis, a major global health problem that causes cirrhosis and liver cancer in people around the world,” the Nobel committee said in a statement.The advances have helped lead to new ways treating and curing Hepatitis C.“The discovery of Hepatitis C virus revealed the cause of the remaining cases of chronic hepatitis” after the discoveries of Hepatitis A and B viruses, “and made possible blood tests and new medicines that have saved millions of lives,” the statement said.Born in 1935 in New York, Harvey Alter graduated with a medical degree at the University of Rochester Medical School. Alter worked for a long time as a senior investigator at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.Michael Houghton was born in Britain in the 1950s.  He received his doctorate degree in virology at King’s College London. Houghton is currently a Canada Excellence Research Chair in Virology at the University of Alberta, among other titles and accolades.Born in 1952 in Sacramento, California, Charles Rice received his doctorate degree in 1981 from the California Institute of Technology. He has also worked at Washington University School of Medicine as a researcher and professor. He joined the Rockefeller University in New York and from 2001 to …

Alcohol-related deaths are increasing in the United States, according to a report this month from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The study found that while more men than women died each year from alcohol-related causes, the rate of increase in deaths was higher for women.And now, it appears, more women are turning to drinking during the coronavirus pandemic shutdown. Many of them bear the burden of most household duties, including childcare, in addition to their responsibilities to their jobs outside their homes, which many are now doing from their homes.“Having children in the home was associated with more drinking,” Lindsey Rodriguez recently told NBC News.Rodriguez, one of the authors of a study about the pandemic and excessive alcohol consumption published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, said that for women “the most problematic alcohol use happened around March and April” of this year when the lockdown went into effect.Another study published recently in JAMA Network Open said that while Americans increased their alcohol consumption by 14% from 2019 to 2020, women increased their heavy drinking — more than four drinks in one sitting — by 41%.Alcohol is the “easiest coping strategy,” Natalie Crawford, an assistant professor of behavioral, social and health education at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, told NBC News recently. “Over a short time period, the system does a really good job of adapting to stress, but this is chronic,” she noted.Some companies are specifically targeting women with their ads for “chick beer” packaged …

The experimental antibody drug given to President Donald Trump has been called one of the most promising approaches to preventing serious illness from a COVID-19 infection.Its maker, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., said the company agreed to supply a single dose, given intravenously, for Trump at the request of his physician under “compassionate use” provisions, when an experimental medicine is provided on a case-by-case emergency basis, while studies of it continue.The new drug is in late-stage testing and its safety and effectiveness are not yet known. No treatment has yet proved able to prevent serious illness after a coronavirus infection.Trump was given the experimental drug at the White House on Friday before he was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he’ll be monitored, officials said. So far, Trump has had only mild symptoms, including fatigue.Several physicians who treat COVID-19, including Dr. David Boulware at the University of Minnesota, had speculated that doctors might use the antibody drug, given that this approach has worked against other diseases in the past.”They’re not going to just sit around and watch to see if he gets sick,” Boulware said.How antibodies workAntibodies are proteins the body makes when an infection occurs; they attach to a virus and help the immune system eliminate it. Vaccines trick the body into thinking there’s an infection so it makes these antibodies.But it can take weeks for them to form after natural infection or a vaccine. The drugs aim to give that protection immediately, by supplying concentrated versions of …

Cameroon says more than 9 million girls aged 9 and above risk developing cervical cancer because their parents have been convinced the human papillomavirus, or HPV, vaccine makes their daughters sterile. Some communities that had accepted the vaccination are now refusing it, claiming that what is being administered now are dangerous experimental COVID-19 vaccines. The government, doctors and female medical staff members are now working to convince parents the HPV vaccination reduces the risk of cervical cancer.   To counter misconceptions, groups of 20 young women move from market to market and through popular spots in Cameroon capital, Yaounde, sharing posters and tell Cameroonians that the HPV vaccine does not make girls sterile.Among them is Linda Fonyuy, a 21-year-old mother.   “I for instance, I am giving my testimony that I received my vaccine as far back as 2014 and today, I am a mother of two.”   Forty-year old fruit seller Gloria Amana says she is not convinced by Fonyuy.     She says she will not accept HPV vaccine because a lot of negative information about the vaccine has been circulating on social media platforms. She says she wants to be a grandmother, so she rejects any vaccine that would sterilize her daughters.A poster of a member of Cameroon’s Medical Women Association endorsing HPV vaccines.This month, Cameroon is implementing systematic use of the HPV vaccine. The effort was first launched in 2014 and has been in a demonstration phase since.   The government and organizations such as the …

While the world wants flashy quick fixes for everything, especially massive threats like the coronavirus and global warming, next week’s Nobel Prizes remind us that in science, slow and steady pays off.     It may soon do so again.   Science builds upon previous work, with thinkers “standing on the shoulders of giants,” as Isaac Newton put it, and it starts with basic research aimed at understanding a problem before fixing it. It’s that type of basic science that the Nobels usually reward, often years or decades after a discovery, because it can take that long to realize the implications.   Slow and steady success in science has made researchers hopeful in the fight against the pandemic. It even offers a glimmer of climate optimism.   Many years of advances in basic molecular science, some of them already Nobel Prize-winning, have given the world tools for fast virus identification and speeded up the development of testing. And now they tantalize us with the prospect of COVID-19 treatments and ultimately a vaccine, perhaps within a few months.   “This could be science’s finest hour. This could be the time when we deliver, not just for the nation but the world, the miracle that will save us,” said geophysicist Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences.   The coronavirus was sequenced in a matter of weeks, testing became available quickly, and vaccines that would normally take years may be developed in a year or less, and “it’s all been …

The world’s democracies are suffering under the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new Freedom House report.     The report, titled Democracy Under Lockdown, says “the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened a crisis for democracy around the world, providing cover for governments to disrupt elections, silence critics and the press, and undermine the accountability needed to protect human rights, as well as public health.”   A possible bright spot, the report says, is “the persistence of public protests, under every type of regime.”   Freedom House President Michael J. Abramowitz said, “Governments in every part of the world have abused their powers in the name of public health, seizing the opportunity to undermine democracy and human rights.”   The report contains a section about the U.S. presidential election, noting that many experts have expressed concern about whether election authorities around the country are fully prepared for the polls, given the surge in voting by mail and the controversy over last-minute changes in election rules.     It came out before U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for coronavirus late Thursday.   The report identifies four problems that have emerged to threaten democracies during the pandemic:  government transparency and information on the coronavirus; corruption, lack of protection for vulnerable populations, and government abuses of power.   Abuses also have extended into elections, with authorities delaying or disrupting national elections in at least nine countries.     “The erosion of political rights and civil liberties …

It’s impossible to tell without a test. Influenza and COVID-19 have such similar symptoms, you may need to get tested to know what’s making you miserable.   Body aches, sore throat, fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue and headaches are symptoms shared by the two. One difference? People with the flu typically feel sickest during the first week of illness. With COVID-19, people may feel the worst during the second or third week, and they may be sicker for a longer period. Another difference: COVID-19 is more likely than the flu to cause a loss of taste or smell. But not everyone experiences that symptom, so it’s not a reliable way to tell the viruses apart. That leaves testing, which will become more important as flu season ramps up this fall in the Northern Hemisphere. Doctors will need to know test results to determine the best treatment.   It’s also possible to be infected with both viruses at the same time, said Dr. Daniel Solomon, an infectious diseases expert at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. Whether you get tested for one or both viruses may depend on how available tests are and which viruses are circulating where you live, he said. “Right now we are not seeing community transmission of influenza, so widespread testing for the flu is not yet recommended,” Solomon said. Both the flu and coronavirus spread through droplets from the nose and mouth. Both can spread before people know they are sick. …

 White House Chief-of-Staff Mark Meadows said Friday U.S. President Donald Trump is experiencing mild effects of the coronavirus after he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19.“The president does have mild symptoms and as we look to try to make sure that not only his health and safety and welfare is good, we continue to look at that for all of the American people,” Meadows said as he spoke to reporters at the White House.Trump’s chief of staff said the president is “not only in good spirits, but very energetic” and remains “committed to working very hard on behalf of the American people.”    White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows speaks to the media after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he and U.S. first lady Melania Trump have both tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Washington, Oct, 2, 2020.In the early morning hours on Friday (04:54 UTC), Trump tweeted: “Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!”Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020Minutes later, the White House released a memorandum from the 74-year-old president’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, confirming the positive tests for the Trumps. “The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence,” Conley said. He added that he expects the president “to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you posted on …

A flight carrying NASA’s new $23 million titanium space toilet, designed as a better fit for female astronauts, failed to launch late Thursday and has another window Friday night. NASA tweeted late Thursday the launch was canceled about 2 minutes before liftoff “due to an unknown problem with a component of ground support equipment.”To recap: Tonight’s launch attempt for FILE – Northrup Grumman’s Antares rocket is poised for launch at the NASA Wallops test flight facility in Wallops Island, Va., Oct. 1, 2020.At barely 100 pounds and 28 inches tall, the new toilet is approximately half as big as the two Russian-built ones at the space station. Its small size makes it a perfect fit for the NASA Orion capsules that will carry astronauts to the moon in a few years. The new toilet is to be used alongside the old one on the U.S. side of the ISS. Like earlier space commodes, air suction, rather than water and gravity, removes the waste. Urine collected by the new toilet will be routed into NASA’s long-standing recycling system to produce water for drinking and cooking. Titanium and other tough alloys were chosen for the new toilet to withstand all the acid in the urine pretreatment. More toilets will be needed as SpaceX launches astronauts to the space station and Boeing stays on course to send up its first crew in less than a year. The typical space station population will go from six to seven with the next SpaceX flight, and even more when nonprofessionals like …

President Donald Trump’s age and weight put him at higher risk of a severe case of COVID-19, but beyond that his prognosis is hard to gauge, experts say.  Trump’s doctor, Sean Conley, confirmed in a statement early Friday that the president and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus. He said they “are both well at this time.”  “I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering,” he added. Trump is 74 years old, and hospitalization rates rise steadily with age. People his age are hospitalized at a rate five times higher than 18-to-29-year-olds, according to the The White House’s Brady press briefing room is almost empty in Washington, Oct. 2, 2020.According to results from his most recent medical exam, Trump is 1.9 meters tall or 6-foot-3 and weighs just under 111 kilos or 244 pounds. That puts his body mass index at the low end of obese.  That triples his risk of hospitalization, according to the CDC. “In general, somebody with those demographics you would have to watch very closely,” said Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.  “But it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are likely to have a severe case,” he added.  “This virus has a different trajectory in each person,” Adalja said. COVID-19 infections run the gamut from asymptomatic to lethal. “We don’t know enough about why some people, even if they’re in a high-risk group, have a mild illness …

A little more than a month before the U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump announced early Friday via Twitter that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus and have begun quarantining themselves. In response, Vice President Mike Pence tweeted: “Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump. We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery. God bless you President Trump & our wonderful First Lady Melania.”Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President A woman walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. U.S. stock futures and Asian shares have fallen after U.S. President Donald Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump…Global markets fell following the news of Trump’s diagnosis.Naoya Oshikubo, a senior economist with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management in Tokyo, told Reuters he was worried that Trump would “become even more aggressive against China” after contracting the virus.  Oshikubo added, “I got the impression that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has become more anti-China after he had COVID-19.” The coronavirus first emerged in China late last year. Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas expressed concern, tweeting: “It’s not just a matter of the President’s personal health; it’s a matter of national security. This virus has claimed over 200k American lives in 6 months.”If @realdonaldtrump tests positive for COVID-19, the White House needs to be honest with the American people. It’s not just a matter of the President’s personal health; it’s a matter of national security. This virus has claimed over 200k American lives …

Italian scientists this week showed evidence of Martian salt water, raising hopes of finding tiny Martian life swimming in it. NASA says an air leak aboard the International Space Station does not threaten the crew.  And SpaceX’s next batch of StarLink satellites will need to find another ride into orbit. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has the Week in Space. …

New research suggests that the collision of space objects that created Earth’s moon may have robbed it of 10% to 60% of its original atmosphere. Most scientists believe that about 4 billion years ago when Earth was still developing, a massive object the size of Mars hit the planet, sending vaporized particles from the collision into space, which were then bound together through gravity to form Earth’s moon. The so-called “impact hypothesis” is one of three key theories of the moon’s formation. The others suggest the moon was either formed at the same time as Earth, or that it was captured by Earth’s gravitational field as it traveled through space. In the new study published Wednesday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, researchers focused on the impact theory, and ran more than 300 computer simulations of massive object collisions with rocky planets with thin atmospheres like Earth. The scientists factored in the angle at which the objects hit the planet, the speed of the impact, as well as the size and mass of the colliding object. FILE – This image, called “Earthrise,” is the first photograph of a distant blue Earth above the moon, taken by the Apollo 8 crew on Dec. 24, 1968.Previous research suggested impact collisions during the late stages of a planet’s formation period can affect its atmosphere. Expanding on this idea, the simulations in this study revealed that a collision like the one that could have created the moon would have cost the Earth a significant portion of its atmosphere. Lead researcher on …

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department announced a new funding opportunity Thursday for providers on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic Thursday.     The $20 billion relief fund will be provided through the Health Resources and Services Administration and will allow providers who previously have received Provider Relief Fund payments to apply for additional funding.     Under the Phase 3 General Distribution allocation program, financial losses and changes in operating expenses caused by the coronavirus that previously were not covered now will be considered.   Those who were previously ineligible, such as providers who began practicing in 2020, also will be able to apply. In addition, an expanded group of behavioral health providers confronting the mental health and substance abuse issues exacerbated by the pandemic will be able to receive relief benefits.     A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that cases involving symptoms of anxiety disorders were triple the amount they were during the same period a year ago. The same report showed the prevalence of a depressive disorder has increased by four times since the second quarter of 2019.     To support mental health providers, the HHS partnered with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to increase their funding eligibility. As a result, addiction counseling centers, mental health counselors, and psychiatrists will be able to apply for benefits.     The package comes after HHS issued more than $100 billion in relief funding to providers. Many …

Britain’s primary environmental agency announced that beginning Thursday a ban on all “single-use” beverage straws is in effect, making it illegal for businesses to sell or supply them to individual customers.   The ban was passed and set to take effect in April, but the COVID-19 pandemic prompted law makers to postpone its implementation so as to not impose a further burden on businesses.   A statement Thursday from Britain’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural affairs says the ban includes plastic straws, stirrers and cotton swabs.   In a statement on its official web site, the agency says it is estimated Britain uses 4.7 billion plastic straws, 316 million plastic stirrers, and 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton swabs annually, many of which find their way into the ocean.   In the statement, Britain’s Environment Secretary George Eustice said single-use plastics cause “real devastation to the environment” and the government is firmly committed to tackling the issue.   He said the ban on straws, stirrers and cotton swabs is just the next step in “our battle against plastic pollution and our pledge to protect our ocean and the environment for future generations.”   Exemptions to the ban include disabled persons or those who need them for medical purposes. Some catering businesses also will be allowed to use plastic straws or stirrers in certain circumstances, and businesses may sell some of the banned items to other businesses.  …

The two largest school districts in the U.S. are rolling out ambitious and costly plans to test students and staff for the coronavirus, bidding to help keep school buildings open amid a rise in infections among the nation’s school-age children.New York City is set to begin testing 10% to 20% of students and staff in every building monthly beginning Thursday, the same day the final wave of the district’s more than 1 million students began returning to brick-and-mortar classrooms for the first time in six months.”Every single school will have testing. It will be done every single month. It will be rigorous,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in announcing the plan as part of an agreement with the teachers union to avert a strike. At least 79 Department of Education employees have died from the virus.With an estimated 100,000-120,000 tests expected each month, each costing between $78 and $90, New York City’s school-based testing plan goes well beyond safety protocols seen in most other districts.Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Unified School District, has launched a similarly comprehensive, $150 million, testing program to help determine when it will be safe to resume in-person instruction. The district began the school year remotely in August for all 600,000 students. The New York and Los Angeles systems are respectively the nation’s largest and 2nd-largest school districts.Leaders in both cities say regular testing is needed in districts of their size and in areas of the country that previously witnessed unnerving surges of the …

British Health Minister Matt Hancock announced Thursday the government will broaden new COVID-19-related restrictions to Liverpool and other areas in northwest Britain after a surge in new cases in that region.Speaking to parliament, Hancock said the restrictions are being extended to Liverpool city region, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough. The restrictions are the same as those imposed in the northeast on Wednesday: no social mixing between different households indoors.Hancock also recommended against spectators attending professional or amateur sports events.The health minister said the northwest has seen a recent surge in cases. “In Liverpool, the number of cases are 268 per 100,000 population, so together we need to act,” he said.Hancock said the government is providing about $9 million in aid to local governments to support their anti-COVID-19 efforts.He added that despite the quick spread of the virus in some parts of the country, there are early indications from the Imperial College of London that the “R number” — the rate of transmissions between people — is falling.On Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson appealed to citizens to follow the rules not only to protect public health, but the economy as well. He also said he would not hesitate to impose new restrictions where necessary to stop or slow the spread of COVID-19.The disease has killed more than 42,000 people in the United Kingdom, according to the John Hopkins University COVID-19 Coronavirus Resource Center — more than in any other country in Europe.   …