The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that there was currently “no evidence” that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second coronavirus infection. In a scientific brief, the United Nations agency warned governments against issuing “immunity passports” or “risk-free certificates” to people who have been infected as their accuracy could not be guaranteed.
The US Covid-19 death toll, the highest in the world, topped 50,000 on Friday, having doubled in 10 days, according to a Reuters tally, and the number of Americans known to be infected surpassed 875,000.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tripled the number of coronavirus symptoms it lists on its website. The federal organization previously listed fever, cough and shortness of breath as symptoms of COVID-19. The CDC has added six additional symptoms as people “have had a wide range of symptoms reported,” it says on its website.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, says “we are not in a situation where we can say we are exactly where we want to be with regard to testing” capacity for COVID-19 in the U.S.
President Trump signed a $484 billion interim coronavirus relief bill on Friday that will add another $310 billion to the small-business Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), as well as provide billions in aid to hospitals and for testing.
The three-day average of new coronavirus hospitalizations in New York fell below 1,300 people on Thursday for the first time since March. The decline is good news, but the number has flattened at a relatively high level, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today during a press briefing in Albany. That’s troubling and shows the need for caution in the weeks ahead.