Less than three months ago came the first reports of cases of pneumonia related to a virus first detected in Wuhan, China. The outbreak of the virus that causes COVID-19 has caused unprecedented disruptions that have brought an unparalleled shock to the global economy. Following are developments Friday related to...
US Virus Testing Faces New Headwind: Lab Supply Shortages
WASHINGTON — First, some of the coronavirus tests didn't work. Then there weren't enough to go around. Now, just as the federal government tries to ramp up nationwide screening, laboratory workers are warning of a new roadblock: dire shortages of testing supplies. The shortages are the latest stumble in a...
A Pot Shop at Your Door: Home Delivery Surges Amid Outbreak
SAN FRANCISCO — One company rushed to expand its delivery fleet. Another has seen sales triple. The global coronavirus pandemic has left millions of people locked out of bars, restaurants and theaters, but it’s been an unexpected boost for some U.S. pot shops. Marijuana users in the nation’s largest legal...
Fresno County: Three New COVID-19 Cases. Isolation Recommended.
Fresno County Public Health officials reported three new positive cases of COVID-19 at a news conference Friday afternoon. Two of the cases are a young couple returning from a cruise; the third is an elderly person who contracted the coronavirus while visiting a relative in the Bay Area. All three are...
VP Pence's Staff Member Has Coronavirus
WASHINGTON — The White House says a member of Vice President Mike Pence’s staff has tested positive for coronavirus. Pence’s spokeswoman Katie Miller said Friday that the staff member, who is not being identified, did not have “close contact” to either Pence or President Donald Trump. Miller said contact tracing,...
City Hits Northwest Liquor Store With $10K Price-Gouging Fine
If store owners don't believe Fresno City Hall is serious about cracking down on price gouging during the COVID-19 pandemic, they should now. City officials said at a Friday news conference that it fined a northwest Fresno liquor store $10,000 for allegedly selling a 24-pack of bottled water for $16....
News Organizations Drop Paywall for Coronavirus Information
NEW YORK — News organizations across the United States are lifting paywalls to share coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, a public service many hope will convince more readers to eventually become paying customers. At the same time, the societal shutdown caused by the virus is exacerbating a decline in advertising...
The World's Fastest Supercomputer Identified Chemicals That Could Stop Coronavirus From Spreading, a Crucial Step Toward a Treatment
[aggregation-styles] CNN The novel coronavirus presents an unprecedented challenge for scientists: The speed at which the virus spreads means they must accelerate their research. But this is what the world's fastest supercomputer was built for. Summit, IBM's supercomputer equipped with the "brain of AI," ran thousands of simulations to analyze...
Clueless Spring Breakers Vow to Party on Despite Coronavirus Warnings
[aggregation-styles] Huff Post Some young spring breakers insist the party’s on and they’re planning to keep at it despite pleas from health authorities to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. “If I get corona, I get corona,” Brady Sluder, an Ohio resident on spring break in Florida, told Reuters....
Zucchini Coins, Dunkin' Sticks On School Menus During COVID-19 Closures
The number of meals provided by Fresno-area schools continued to climb this week as school districts worked to make sure no kids go hungry while schools are closed because of the COVID-19 outbreak. And the contents of those meals should look pretty familiar to kids. Wednesday's lunch was a cheeseburger,...