Day: May 24, 2020

Federal public health officials worked to remind Americans celebrating Memorial Day weekend of the importance of maintaining social distancing Sunday, highlighting that although the coronavirus crisis appears to be gradually improving in many regions of the United States, many still remain at risk of infection.

“With the country starting to open up this holiday weekend, I again remind everyone that the coronavirus is not yet contained,” Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, tweeted. “It is up to every individual to protect themselves and their community. Social distancing, hand washing and wearing masks protect us all.”

And …

A single church service in Frankfurt, Germany, held in early May appears to have led to at least 40 reported cases of coronavirus in the area, according to a report from German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel.

The outbreak highlights the risks that accompany easing lockdowns even in countries that have managed to control the spread of the virus relatively well. And it also serves as a reminder of the acute threat posed by “superspreader” events involving crowds, a pressing concern in the US as President Donald Trump encourages churches nationwide to reopen their doors to worshippers.

Rene Gottschalk, the Frankfurt health …

Memorial Day weekend is meant to be a somber occasion for commemorating the men and women who have lost their lives while serving in the United States military — and it’s a particularly tragic one in light of the rapidly mounting death toll from the coronavirus in the US, which is fast approaching 100,000 lives. But President Donald Trump spent the weekend tweeting conspiracy theories and deriding his political opponents’ physical appearance.

And in the few tweets he sent addressing the coronavirus pandemic, Trump shared misleading information. He did all this while playing golf for the first time …

Thousands of demonstrators filled the streets of downtown Hong Kong on Sunday, defying social distancing protocols to protest Beijing’s announcement of a sweeping new national security law that could unravel many of the civil liberties residents enjoy in the semi-autonomous region of China.

Police used water cannons, tear gas, and pepper spray to disperse protesters, and there were reports of protesters throwing objects like plastic bottles and umbrellas at the police. At least 120 people were arrested.

The protest — the largest in the territory since the spread of coronavirus-caused lockdowns across China — reflects an intensification of longstanding …

America’s public health experts are working hard to map out a plan to combat the coronavirus in America. And there are indeed many proposals — from academic centers, from think tanks, and from the government.

While the plans differ, nearly all of them rely on some combination of surveillance, mass testing, isolation, and contact tracing. Many of them point to countries like Singapore, South Korea, and Germany as examples of how to intelligently respond to the pandemic.

But what if the successful strategies in those countries just won’t work in America?

This question was posed by …