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Ohio man who disparaged lockdown measures on Facebook dies of coronavirus Social media posts of an Ohio man who disparaged coronavirus lockdown measures are now circulating online after he died of COVID-19, the disease associated with coronavirus. Screenshots of Facebook posts have surfaced online just days after John W. McDaniel, 60, died of coronavirus on April 15. One screenshot of a post dated March 13 included an accusation that the virus was a "political ploy." "If you're paranoid about getting sick, just don't go out," another post allegedly said. "It shouldn't keep those of us from Living Our Lives. The Madness has to stop." Read the full story here. Share this -







A wedding in the age of social distancing Apu Gomes / AFP - Getty Images Clerk Recorder Erika Patronas officiates Natasha and Michael Davis' wedding ceremony at the Honda Center parking lot on April 21, 2020 in Anaheim, California. The County of Orange Clerk Recorder employees implemented a variety of social distancing techniques to safely issue licenses and marry couples during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Share this -







Former pharmacy worker accused of stealing malaria drug A former Los Angeles-area pharmacy technician was expected Wednesday to face allegations in court that he stole drugs previously touted by President Donald Trump as possibly effective in treating COVID-19. Christopher Mencias Agustin was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Los Angeles state court based on a case filed Monday. He has not been jailed, according to local sheriff's records. Prosecutors' criminal complaint alleges that between March 31 and April 9, Mencias concealed or withhold stolen property that included hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug, and azithromycin, an antibiotic. The combination of the two has previously been promoted by the president as a possible coronavirus treatment. He's been charged with two felony counts of second-degree burglary "during an emergency" and one felony county of concealing or withholding stolen property exceeding $950, the office of the Los Angeles County District Attorney said in a statement. Other drugs were taken, too, the District Attorney's office alleged, and the total value of the thefts was estimated to be $6,700. NBC News reached out to a possible attorney for the defendant but did not get an immediate response. Share this -







AC/DC is helping to keep these animals calm during coronavirus lockdown Wildlife Park Mehlmeisel in Germany. Courtesy Wildlife Park Mehlmeisel A small animal enclosure in Bavaria, Germany is playing music to "entertain" its inhabitants during quiet lockdown times. “We play anything from hard rock, to pop, to classical music to country tunes,” the owner of animal park Mehlmeisel, Eckard Mickisch, told NBC News. The park uses the individually selected playlists to maintain a noise backdrop that is usually generated by the visitors to the small zoo, which houses between 60 and 100 domestic animals. “We want to make sure that all sound frequencies are played and therefore have songs like ‘Highway to Hell’ from AC/DC on our lists, as well as high pitch classical compositions,” Mickisch said. The park owner believes that the animals need to be “desensitized” before the visitors return. “The animals get too easily scared, if it is too quiet for a longer period of time,” Mr. Mickisch explained, which could lead to flight behavior, especially among the deer population and other herd animals. “Our employees get to choose the playlist, as they are the ones who have to listen to this all day as well,” says Mickisch. Share this -







'A race against time': Results expected soon on experimental coronavirus drug A capsule of Remdesivir in Hamburg, Germany on April 8, 2020. Ulrich Perrey / Pool via Reuters The results of a highly anticipated study on an experimental coronavirus treatment for the sickest patients are expected any day. Physicians leading the clinical trial for the drug, called remdesivir, say the fast-moving pandemic has compelled them to work with haste, all without compromising the scientific rigor necessary to prove whether the drug really works. Read the full story here. Share this -







California Gov. lays out plans to expand testing in under-served communities California Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out more detailed plans Wednesday to ramp up COVID-19 testing across the state, with a goal of vastly expanding its number of daily tests while also reaching into so-called "testing deserts" in rural and under-served urban communities. With a population of nearly 40 million people, California went from testing 2,000 people a day on average at the beginning of the pandemic to about 15,000 a day. The state's eventual goal is to administer 60,000 tests daily, with the help from the Trump administration, which is helping secure tens of thousands of testing swabs. With approximately 250 core testing sites out of a total of 600, Newsom said the state is adding 86 testing sites to better track the virus in rural areas and urban centers, specifically to get a better read on the pandemic's impact on communities of color. California governor says Trump to deliver 100K testing swabs this week April 22, 2020 02:31 Share this -







He traveled to a hospital to set up its new computer system. Three weeks later, he died there. The nurses at the Wisconsin hospital where Chad Capule died were really hoping he would pull through so he could help them better understand the new computer system he had traveled there to install just as he started feeling ill. But the IT manager, who was 49 years old whose only underlying condition was hypertension, tested positive for coronavirus and was intubated a week after setting up that new system at St. Agnes Hospital. He died there two weeks after that. Capule's family believes he would have survived had he been tested for coronavirus sooner. He also fell victim to another cruel trick of the virus — starting to feel better right before turning for the worst. Hours after he was finally tested and found out he was positive, Capule wrote an email to his friends and family to fill them in, striking an encouraging tone."This was somewhat frightening, but am very low risk and not in mortal danger," he wrote in the email that his wife, Anne Starkweather, shared with NBC News. "I want to assure everyone that the primary symptoms have subsided and I am well on the road to recovery and expect to be back by this weekend in DC," Capule wrote on March 11. Instead, Capule returned home in an urn. Read the full story here. Share this -





