The coronavirus has ground social, economic and educational exchanges to a halt around the world. For now, public health officials are relying on tools like social distancing to minimize the harm of the virus, but in the long term, a COVID-19 vaccine is the best hope of a return to...
Fareed Zakaria: US Has Met Crisis With Incompetence
[aggregation-styles] CNN “The United States is on track to have the worst outbreak of coronavirus among wealthy countries, largely because of the ineffectiveness of its government,” Fareed Zakaria writes in his latest Washington Post column. “This is the new face of American exceptionalism.” The US faces shortages of ventilators and...
Coronavirus Misinformation and Hoax Text Messages are Making the Rounds. Here’s How to Spot Them
[aggregation-styles] Los Angeles Times Messages that have circulated widely over the past week have created a potent rumor mill and stirred up fear among recipients with dire warnings of martial law being imminently imposed by President Trump and similarly extreme scenarios, in which soldiers would be ordered to keep people...
ValleyPBS Lays Off Staffers, CEO Says COVID-19 Cut Into Revenues
Several ValleyPBS staffers were laid off Friday in a cost-cutting move that station president/CEO Lorenzo Rios said was due to revenue losses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Rios said the staffers were administrative and not the operational employees responsible for keeping the station on the air. He would not confirm...
FDA Approves 5-Minute Coronavirus Test
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared a new rapid test from Abbott Laboratories, which the company says can detect the coronavirus in about 5 minutes. Medical device maker Abbott announced the emergency clearance of its cartridge-based test in a release Friday night. The company says that...
Fresno County Mandates Health Checks, Reports 4 New COVID-19 Cases
All employers must screen workers for fever or respiratory issues as part of a new order from the Fresno County Public Health Department announced Friday afternoon. Employees exhibiting symptoms will be sent home. The department also announced four new cases of COVID-19, bringing the county's total to 31. Of those...
This Calculator Tells You Exactly How Big Your Coronavirus Stimulus Check Could Be
[aggregation-styles] CNBC Make It The $2 trillion stimulus bill in response to the COVID-19 pandemic was passed by the House on Friday and signed by President Donald Trump. The plan includes a one-time direct payment to Americans, which Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said should arrive within three weeks. Individuals will...
California Halts Evictions for 2 Months Amid Outbreak
LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday banned all evictions of renters for the next two months, his latest effort to offer a lifeline to the many millions in the state harmed by the economic fallout from the spreading coronavirus. Newsom signed an executive order that prohibits landlords, law...
Trump Seeks to Force General Motors to Produce Ventilators
DETROIT — President Donald Trump issued an order Friday that seeks to force General Motors to produce ventilators for coronavirus patients under the Defense Production Act. Trump said negotiations with General Motors had been productive, “but our fight against the virus is too urgent to allow the give-and-take of the...
First Kern County Coronavirus Death, Virus Spreads in Fresno County
Kern County has suffered its first coronavirus death. “We offer our deepest condolences to the family and are saddened by this,” said Matt Constantine, director of Kern County Public Health Services, in a news release Friday. “This is a tragic reminder of how serious COVID-19 can be and we encourage...