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More than 80 inmates test positive for coronavirus at Indiana prison More than 80 inmates have tested positive for cornavirus at an Indiana prison, according to NBC South Bend affiliate WNDU. Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box discussed the growing outbreak at the Westville Correctional Facility in northwest Indiana, saying people in the prison who have tested positive are being isolated. A man incarcerated in the Indiana prison died of the virus this week, renewing a push by civil liberties groups to release those incarcerated who are at-risk, a move the governor opposes. Share this -







Photo: Mother recovering from coronavirus meets son for the first time Yanira Soriano holds Walter for the first time outside Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, N.Y., on Wednesday. Soriano, who had COVID-19 pneumonia in her third trimester was put on a ventilator before she had an emergency C-section earlier this month. Northwell Health Share this -







As baseball plots its return, medical experts weigh in on what's needed New York Yankees play the Washington Nationals in a Grapefruit League spring training game on March 12, 2020 in West Palm Beach, Fla. Michael Reaves / Getty Images file One of the nation’s foremost experts on infectious diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, gave baseball fans hope this week when he said that a season could start amid the coronavirus pandemic if games are played in empty stadiums and players are sequestered in hotels. “Put (players) in big hotels, wherever you want to play, keep them very well surveilled,” Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during part of an interview with Peter Hamby on the Snapchat show, "Good Luck America." “Have them tested every single week and make sure they don’t wind up infecting each other or their family, just let them play the season out.” Read the full story here. Share this -







Facebook nixes planned events with 50 or more people through June 2021 Facebook is canceling all of its scheduled physical events with 50 or more people through June 2021, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post Thursday. "Some of these we will hold as virtual events instead and we'll share more details on that soon," Zuckerberg said in a post on Facebook. "Similarly, we're extending our policy of no business travel through at least June of this year as well." Zuckerberg also said the "vast majority" of the company's employees would continue to work from home "through at least the end of May." "A small percent of our critical employees who can't work remotely, like content reviewers working on counter-terrorism or suicide and self-harm prevention, and engineers working on complex hardware, may be able to return sooner, but overall, we don't expect to have everyone back in our offices for some time," he said. Share this -







Seven midwestern governors announce pact to plan for reopening their economies Seven midwestern governors announced Thursday they are forming a regional pact to plan for the reopening of their respective economies. Those governors include Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Tim Walz of Minnesota, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Andy Beshear of Kentucky. DeWine and Holcomb are Republicans, while the other five are Democrats. "Our number one priority when analyzing when best to reopen our economy is the health and safety of our citizens," the governors said in a joint statement. "We will make decisions based on facts, science, and recommendations from experts in health care, business, labor, and education." The governors listed four factors they will consider when determining when to reopen — sustained control in the rate of new infections and hospitalizations, enhanced testing and tracing ability, sufficient capacity in the health care system to handle a resurgence and guidance for best practices for social distancing in the workplace. The announcement comes after seven governors of northeastern states announced a similar pact earlier this week, as did three states along the Pacific coast. President Donald Trump said earlier this week he is deferring to the governors on reopening plans, though his administration has created working groups to offer guidance and assistance. Share this -







New Orleans Jazz Fest fall reschedule date cancelled, next concert to be in 2021 The New Orleans Jazz Fest 2020 announced that its fall reschedule date has been cancelled and the next concert won't occur until 2021. "With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to evolve unpredictably—and out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of our community, including musicians, fans, participants, and staff—Jazz Fest 2020 will not occur this fall, as previously announced," the organization said. The event was originally supposed to begin this April, but it was postponed as COVID-19 rapidly spread throughout Louisiana. "It takes something truly momentous to interrupt a 50-year New Orleans tradition as special as the Festival, but we feel strongly that the most prudent course right now is to allow more time for the situation to stabilize," the group said. Share this -







White House exploring ways of ramping up coronavirus testing The White House is exploring ways of dramatically increasing coronavirus testing in the U.S., as President Donald Trump’s aides scramble to put measures in place that might make it feasible for him to meet his goal of reopening the economy in parts of the country by May 1, according to four people familiar with the efforts. Multiple ideas are under consideration for increasing diagnostic testing and testing for coronavirus antibodies as well as how to target those tests to geographic areas and specific industries to open as much of the economy as possible, these people said. Read the full story here. Share this -





