Coronavirus Special Coverage

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COVID-19: key developments for Thursday, June 18, 2020

2 Comments on COVID-19: key developments for Thursday, June 18, 2020

The world has over 8.56 million cases.  Cases have grown globally by almost a million in the last week. The US has over 2.2 million cases and has had over 120,000 deaths. The US has gained over 24,000 new cases since yesterday. The US continues to plateau at a high rate of case growth.

AstraZenica is aiming for 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine, with a short-term goal of hundreds of millions produced in 2020. That would take a herculean effort, a distinct lack of hitches, and perhaps a star alignment, too.

Governor Greg Abbott of Texas initially barred mayors from mandating mask wearing, but ultimately backtracked as cases rose:

Abbott is now saying that kids will return to school in the fall and won’t be mandated to wear masks. Methinks he’s going to be backtracking again real soon.

Arizona’s Governor has done just what Abbott has done (allowing mayors to mandate mask-wearing), which is probably good considering that Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb tested positive after refusing to enforce lockdowns:

California has set a record with most cases in a day on Wednesday. On Thursday Governor Newsom ordered masks for all Californians when in public.

260 people with Orlando International Airport contact (visitors, travelers, or airport workers) have tested positive for the pandemic virus since March. Florida is testing around 30,000 people per day.

Here’s an updated Texas COVID-19 dashboard:

I keep saying we’re plateauing, but our numbers are actually rising again:

It’s not just nursing homes that are fodder for the virus. Cases are burning through Halfway Houses and creating large outbreaks. Many facilities that are similar to this (Board and Cares, Sober Living Environments, Institutions for the Mentally Diseased, for example) are probably also at risk and are likely being overlooked as well.

The head of Honduras is positive:

Many hoped that heat and humidity would slow the spread. Sadly, summertime does not appear to be helping us:

Symptomatic hairdressers in Missouri sheared hundreds, but none got infected. Know why? Because the hairdressers were wearing masks.

A church in Oregon is the epicenter of a largest outbreak in the state. 236 people were infected after attending services. The church held gatherings despite state orders to limit the size of gatherings. 5 people are hospitalized because of this outbreak.

Scenes from The Great Depression v. 2020:

Hundreds of US Army recruits arrived at Fort Benning and were screened for the pandemic virus. 4 were positive and were isolated. Just over a week later, 142 were positive. The Navy is the branch of the military with the most cases.

Meat and seafood markets in China are heavily contaminated with the virus. Chinese officials have warned against consuming raw fish from these markets, especially salmon.

Housing demand is increasing in the suburbs. People are fleeing to the suburbs because they are increasingly working from home.

Stephanie Arnold | cosmicpixle

Stephanie Arnold is an advanced practice psychiatric nurse and a doctoral candidate in UA Tuscaloosa’s DNP program. Stephanie moonlights from time to time at UCLA teaching mental health nursing. She also likes making cold-process soap.

  • 2 Comments
    • vdubber67 June 19, 2020

      Thanks for these periodic updates. Although I’m in the UK rather than the USA, your insights are always really interesting and often come from an angle I’ve not seen before – thanks!

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