November 23 coronavirus news

Amid a rush of Thanksgiving travel, accelerating infection rates and no significant change in mobility data, "many Americans could take one simple step to protect themselves: Buy a better mask," Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Sunday.

"While there are still some shortages of medical masks, health-care workers have dedicated supply chains," Gottlieb wrote. "It’s time to revise the guidance to consumers."

N95 masks and their equivalents offer the best protection against the novel coronavirus, Gottlieb said. If used properly, they can filter out at least 95% of infectious particles. Equivalents include the KN95 from China and the FFP2 from Europe.

Surgical masks are the next best option, which could offer protection of about 60%, Gottlieb said – but quality matters. Many masks sold on Amazon say they are for dust and allergens but aren’t surgical masks. Real medical-procedure masks are cleared by the FDA and offer one of three levels of protection, with a level 2 or level 3 mask generally being best.

Finally, cloth masks are the least protective, Gottlieb said. If it is the only available option, it should be thick, snug-fitting and made of cotton-polyester blends, as these will generally offer more protection.

"But even a very good cloth mask may only be about 30% protective; scarf or bandanna, 10% or less," Gottlieb wrote.

While it may be more expensive to buy better quality masks, having a few available for high-risk settings can reduce transmission risks, he said. The Department of Homeland Security has also published online instructions for disinfecting and reusing N95 masks, which can extend their life.

"Slowing the current cycle of spread will be difficult," Gottlieb wrote. "But encouraging Americans to wear higher-quality masks is a simple step that might make a difference." 

The percent of people who tested positive for Covid-19 city wide is at 2.95%, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said today – with a seven-day rolling average of 3.06%, he said. 

The mayor said the number giving him “tremendous” concern is the new reported cases on a seven-day average, a threshold of which the city has “blown by many times over.”

Starting last Thursday, New York City closed down its public school buildings after the city's seven-day average reached the 3% positive testing rate threshold. All students transitioned to remote learning.

With regard to new reported cases on a seven-day average, NYC reports 1,381 cases. The city set threshold is 550 cases.

The daily number of people admitted to hospitals for Covid-19 is at 100, under the 200 threshold. The confirmed positivity rate for Covid-19 for those patients is 43.27%.

“That positivity rate has gone up,” he said “that’s a real concern.”

“The 100 patients, too many but again we see an interesting gap here in that that number has not grown consistently so far, we are not out of the woods,” he said. 

He added that intensive care units have not been as full as expected.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio reiterated that he believes the city is heading toward the "orange zone" designation based on the trajectory of the state’s numbers, and outlined his initial plan for bringing schools back online. In the orange zone, indoor dining and gyms will be closed.  

Remember: New York City closed down its public school buildings starting last Thursday after the city's seven-day average reached the 3% positive testing rate threshold. All students transitioned to remote learning.

The mayor said there is a “strong strong likelihood that in a matter of days the state of New York will determine that NYC is an orange zone according to state standards.”

De Blasio stressed that he is not speaking for the state but is taking the trajectory of their numbers and analyzing them, adding “basing on what the state has said already there’s a likelihood as soon as next week even that NYC will be declared and orange zones.”

“Once that happens we will be in a position to take additional measures to reopen schools,” he said.

The clear protocol for that involves a lot more testing he said, and a very “aggressive” approach, he said.

Testing would be done in advance of children and staff returning to school on top of much more testing throughout the school year.

A lot of details have to be worked out between the city and state he said.

The first focus will be special education, or district 75 schools, followed by youngest grades including early childhood education and then elementary.

He did not elaborate further on the plan.

National lockdown restrictions in England will end next week as scheduled, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday.

Gyms, shops and salons will be allowed to reopen but there will be regional tiered restrictions.

"We are not there yet," Johnson said to members of parliament as he laid out his plans to return to a tiered system after Dec. 2. 

Johnson said he plans to lay out which parts of the country is in which tier on Thursday. 

Toronto, Canada's largest city, was placed into lockdown for 28 days on Friday, with officials shutting shops, businesses and restaurants and banning indoor gatherings to curb a growing spike in Covid-19 cases.

Here's what you need to know about the restrictions:

More than 1,400 new coronavirus cases were reported in Ontario on Friday, taking the province's total case since the start of the pandemic beyond 100,000.

The region has been battling a rapidly rising rate of infections, with Toronto particularly badly hit; the city broke its record for new infections on Tuesday and has reported several hundred new cases each day this week.

On Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the country is "not there yet" when asked whether a new national lockdown would be imposed.

Read more here.

Wall Street started the holiday-shortened week on a strong note as further progress on the Covid-19 vaccine front gives investors more confidence about the outlook for 2021.

Here's how things looked at the opening bell:

The rally comes despite skyrocketing Covid-19 infections around the US and the return of health restrictions that will pressure the economy.

The good news: AstraZeneca announced its experimental coronavirus vaccine showed an average efficacy rate of 70%, making it the third vaccine candidate to show promising results.

The US has recorded over 3 million Covid-19 infections already in November — and the month isn't over yet.

If you're just reading in now, here are the latest coronavirus headlines coming out of the US.

Here's a look at where Covid-19 cases are rising across the country compared to the previous week, according to Johns Hopkins University data:

Sen. Chuck Grassley, who tested positive for the coronavirus last week, tweeted on Monday that he expects to be back on the Hill next week.

A spokesman told CNN Friday that Grassley remained symptom free and was resting at home in isolation.

“The most reassuring thing I can say to you, America, is that when they tell me that I can get the vaccine, I will get it, because I know that’s the best way to protect myself and to protect my family and my community,” US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said on “Good Morning America” Monday.

Adams said that he has been traveling around and talking to people, including presidents from historically black colleges and universities, trying to help people understand that Covid-19 vaccines were developed safely.

When asked how to be sure there won’t be any future prolonged side effects from the vaccine, which is the first of its kind, Adams said that he speaks every day to Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator.

“Here’s what they tell me. Normal studies only have about 5,000 people in them before a vaccine is approved. These studies have 30 to 60,000,” he said. “These vaccines, at the point of being administered to the American public, will have more data than any other vaccine developed in history.”

Adams reiterated he would get a vaccine as soon as he was able, saying, “Again, I will be in line to get it when they tell me that I can get it. That’s how much confidence I have this will be safe – 95% plus effectiveness.”

Adams said he would hate for there to be a vaccine that could end the pandemic and that people don’t trust it, saying he would continue to work with any organization out there “to help people understand the safety that went into this process, not just the speed.”