September 14 coronavirus news

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio teased that Macy’s is putting together entertainment for Thanksgiving to replace the traditional live parade coverage in light of the pandemic.

This will not be a live parade, but the experience will be online, and on television, de Blasio said, not delving into details. 

He is reviewing the specifics with Macy’s later today.

De Blasio began by saying there are some things “we still can’t do” like have “large gatherings ... parades ... community events.” 

The Mayor noted he is looking forward to the parade's hopeful return in 2021.

Coronavirus has claimed the life of a Palm Beach County Sheriff deputy, the agency announced on Twitter Saturday. 

"We are sad to announce the passing of D/S Angela Chavers" PBSO tweeted.

Chavers 44, died on Saturday as a result of battling Covid-19. Chavers began working for the sheriff's office in 2002, according to CNN affiliate WPBF. She was assigned to the Inmate Management and Corrections Division. 

Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced. 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city has also created a Covid-19 Response “Situation Room” specifically for the Department of Education (DOE).

It will be comprised of DOE, Test & Trace and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene staff, and open six days a week.

It will also have a direct hotline for principals, and be responsible for daily public reporting.

It will be led by NYC Buildings Commissioner Melanie La Rocca, who called the task at hand “unprecedented,” adding that the process will be “very straight forward.”

In New York City, 55 school-based staff members have tested positive for Covid-19 as a result of priority testing, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.

Almost 17,000 school-based staff have taken advantage of “priority testing,” the mayor said, returning a .32% positivity rate.

“That tells us a lot” he said notably that efforts to fight back the disease are “working,” and that school workers are being “diligent.”

He said 98% of the results came back within 48 hours. 

There are 22 priority testing sites available at Health and Hospital facilities for students and staff this week, which will turn results in a 24-48 hour period.

This is free for any student or DOE employee, de Blasio said.

Two Emory University doctors stressed the importance of getting a flu shot this year – to avoid what they call the “twindemic” of Covid-19 and influenza.

Dr. Carlos del Rio, executive associate dean of Emory University School of Medicine at Grady Health System, said now is not the time to lower our guard and become “complacent.”

“When Dr. Fauci said the other day, ‘We need to hunker down,’ I think what he was saying is: We need to really reinforce social distancing, masking, handwashing, and I would add to that, influenza vaccination,” del Rio said during a Monday webinar.

For the flu, “we have a vaccine. Use it,” he added.

Dr. Walter Orenstein, associate director of the Emory Vaccine Center, said the middle-of-the-road effectiveness of the flu vaccine should not deter people from getting it.

“For the 2019-20 season, the estimated effectiveness is 38% overall. While these estimates are not optimal for a vaccine want – we’d like a more effective vaccine – they are still a lot better than 0%, which is the effectiveness of no vaccination,” Orenstein said.

Orenstein said the flu is not “a trivial illness,” as some people tend to think.

And by getting the vaccine, you’re protecting others, del Rio added.

“The effectiveness of the vaccine decreases with age,” del Rio said. “So if I get myself and my kids immunized, I protect my parents – my elderly parents – better, because even though they may not be protected from the vaccine, the fact that the close network of individuals they have is protected, protects them.”

As athletes recover from Covid-19, taking images of their hearts to screen for inflammation may help doctors determine when it could be safe to return to competing in games, new research suggests.

The study – conducted by researchers at Ohio State University – found in cardiac magnetic resonance images, or MRIs, that among 26 of the university's competitive athletes who were recovering from Covid-19, four showed signs of inflammation of the heart muscle, called myocarditis.

More on this: The researchers performed cardiac magnetic resonance imaging on 26 competitive athletes referred to the university's sports medicine clinic after testing for Covid-19 between June and August. The athletes were involved in football, soccer, lacrosse, basketball and track – and only 12 athletes reported having symptoms, which were mild, while others did not show any symptoms.

The cardiac imaging was performed after each athlete quarantined for at least 11 days. No athletes had illness severe enough to require hospitalization, according to the study, and none received antiviral therapies specific for Covid-19.

The imaging showed that four athletes, or 15%, had findings consistent with myocarditis and eight additional athletes, or 30.8%, had signs of prior myocardial injury.

The study had some limitations, including that more research is needed to determine whether similar findings would emerge among a larger group of college athletes from various universities.

It's Monday morning in the US, and the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage across the country and the rest of the world.

The World Health Organization received reports of 307,930 new Covid-19 cases worldwide in the past 24 hours — the highest single-day increase in global infections since the pandemic began. The previous daily high was set on September 6, when 306,857 cases were reported.

If you're just reading in now, here's what else you need to know to start the day:

Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been released from hospital in Milan where he was receiving treatment for coronavirus-related pneumonia, his press office told CNN Monday.

The 83-year-old media magnate, who first became the country's leader in 1994, was admitted to the San Raffaele hospital on September 3 and subsequently tested positive for Covid-19.

Upon his release from hospital Berlusconi told journalists the experience was “the most dangerous test of my life."

Italy recorded six further coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the health ministry, taking its total death toll to 35,610.

The number of patients in intensive care has been steadily increasing, reaching 187 on Sunday. 

However, some Italian schools reopened Monday. Students and teachers have been given masks and hand sanitizer, but some schools have not received the new single person-desks which are supposed to help with social distancing.

Italy has a high percentage of teachers over the age of 50, a group at greater risk from coronavirus.

Secondary lockdowns are coming into force and restrictions being renewed, as countries struggle to get a handle on new waves of coronavirus cases while attempting to keep their economies afloat.

In a sign that the worst is far from over, the World Health Organization reported the highest single-day increase in global infections since the pandemic began on Sunday.

Israel will bring back a nationwide lockdown — one of the first countries to do so — reimposing many of the same severe restrictions seen earlier this year, as an outbreak widens there. The government, wary of mass gatherings ahead of the high holidays, said the measures will come into force on Friday, the start of the Jewish new year.

Meanwhile, in Britain, a government adviser has warned that failure to contain a surge of cases could put the country "right back in hard lockdown in short order." In an attempt to contain the virus' spread, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reduced the number of people allowed to meet from 30 to six, starting Monday.

As Europe sees a spike in cases, WHO's director for the continent told Agence France-Presse that the crisis was only going to get tougher, and to expect more deaths in October and November. "It's a moment where countries don't want to hear this bad news, and I understand," Hans Kluge said, adding that we all have to "learn how to live with this pandemic."

A version of this story appeared in the September 14 edition of CNN's Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction newsletter. Sign up here to receive the need-to-know headlines every weekday.

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