BEAUMONT, Texas — This article contains ongoing U.S. and international updates on the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects. Here are some key updates for Wednesday, April 29, 2020. You can find more details by scrolling through the story.
Key updates
- Orange opens new Taco Bell restaurant, drive thru only
- Beaumont reports one death related to COVID-19, five new cases and eight recoveries
- Dr. Fauci says results from remdesivier study shows a drug can block the coronavirus
- President Trump said the federal government will not be extending its social distancing guidelines when they expire Thursday at the end of the month.
- A Houston medical diagnostic lab is now capable of running and FDA-approved test on thousands of blood samples for coronavirus antibodies.
- Look back at the Tuesday, April 28, blog at this link
School Impacts | Business Impacts, Closures | Map of SE Texas cases | Coronavirus symptoms & prevention | Coronavirus questions answered
Latest updates:
Here are the latest updates from around Southeast Texas, Texas, Louisiana and some from the world (all times are local Central Daylight Time)
April 29, 6:58 p.m. — The Port Arthur Health Department reports a Nederland boy between the ages 10 and 15 tested positive for the coronavirus is quarantined at home.
April 29, 6:00 p.m. — Orange County announces the opening of the new Taco Bell restaurant. The new restaurant is operating as drive thru only until further notice. This store will be open daily from 9 a.m. to midnight, according to an Orange Texas Facebook post.
April 29, 5:19 p.m. — Chambers County reports no new cases for a sixth consecutive day.
April 29, 4:52 p.m. — The Southeast Texas Regional Emergency Operations Center will set up two more COVID-19 testing sites in Port Arthur and Orange County. COVID-19 tests will be provided at the alternative testing sites and will only be available for residents of that area as follows. Orange County residents will be able to be tested on May 5 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the Orange County Convention and Expo Center. It's located at 11475 FM 1442 in Orange.
Port Arthur residents will be tested on May 6 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the Bob Bowers Civic Center at 3401 Cultural Drive in Port Arthur.
Testing will be performed by appointment only. Only 100 appointments will be scheduled at each location. To schedule an appointment, please call 409-550-2536. You do not have to have COVID-19 symptoms to request testing but you will have to show proof of residency to be tested at the alternative testing sites. The Call Center is open from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Testing is FREE.
April 29, 4:30 p.m. — The City of Beaumont reports one death, five new cases, and eight recoveries related to COVID-19.
Three of of the new cases are from people within the age range of 31 and 40-years-old. One person reported is between the age of 51 and 60-years-old. Another person is between the age of 61 and 70-years-old.
April 29, 4 p.m. —Two employees at the Papa John's Pizza in Buna who were tested last week for coronavirus have had their test results come back negative according to the store's franchise business director, Haley Dover.
The store shut down down and was cleaned and disinfected as a precaution before reopening.
April 29, 2 p.m. — President Donald Trump says the federal government will not be extending its social distancing guidelines when they expire Thursday at the end of the month.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the coronavirus guidelines will be “fading out” because of work that governors are doing in their states. Scroll down for more.
April 29, 1:45 p.m. — National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said at the White House Wednesday that a study on the drug Remdisivir shows that it "can block" the coronavirus.
Fauci's remarks came Wednesday during an Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, the Coronavirus Task Force and Louisiana Governor Bel Edwards. He added that the result was a strong "proof of concept" for the drug. Scroll down for more.
April 29, 1:30 p.m. — Federal authorities are giving cleaning and disinfecting tips for schools and workplaces to help deal with the coronavirus.
The Environmental Protection Agency and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the cleaning guidelines Wednesday.
The guidelines urge Americans to draw up plans to clean areas with soap and water and disinfectant. Recommendations include ensuring custodians have proper protective gear. Scroll down for more.
April 29, 11 a.m. — Mobile COVID-19 testing sites are open today in Jasper and Tyler County for those who schedule an appointment by calling 512-883-2400 or visiting TxCovidTest.org.
Officials say you'll be screened for fever and/or chills, cough, fatigue, body aches/muscle or joint pain, shortness of breath, sore throat, headaches, nausea/vomiting/diarrhea or nasal congestion. Those with a loss of taste and/or smell will also be screened. You will NOT be able to get tested without an appointment.
Those testing in Jasper County will be sent to the Annex Building at 271 East Lamar in Jasper.
Those testing in Tyler County will be sent to the Tyler County Emergency Operations Center/Nutrition Center at 201 Veterans Way in Woodville.
The free tests will be offered Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
April 29, 10:10 a.m. — The U.S. economy shrank at a 4.8% annual rate last quarter as the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the country and began triggering a recession that will end the longest expansion on record. Scroll down for more.
April 29, 3:10 a.m. — A Houston medical diagnostic lab is now capable of testing thousands of blood samples for coronavirus antibodies.
SynerGene Laboratories, a facility owned by Principle Health Systems, is offering a COVID-19 test developed by pharmaceuticals giant, Abbott Laboratories. It tests for antibodies for the novel coronavirus and can detect whether a person has been exposed. Scroll down for more.
April 29 — South Korean infectious disease experts have downplayed concerns that patients could get reinfected with the new coronavirus after fully recovering. Scroll down for more.
April 29 — President Donald Trump said his administration is considering requiring travelers on certain incoming international flights to undergo temperature and virus checks to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Scroll down for more.
There have been more than 1,023,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. death toll is more than 58,000 while more than 116,000 have recovered. Nearly 5.8 million tests for COVID-19 have been performed in the U.S.
Worldwide, there have been more than 3.1 million cases with 218,000 deaths and 948,000 recoveries.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.
Federal social distancing guidelines to expire
President Donald Trump says the federal government will not be extending its social distancing guidelines when they expire Thursday at the end of the month.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the coronavirus guidelines will be “fading out” because of work that governors are doing in their states.
Vice President Mike Pence said the guidelines issued 45 days ago have been incorporated into guidance provided to the states on how they can begin the process of gradually reopening their economies.
The guidelines – which were originally supposed to last 15 days and were then extended another 30 - included encouraging Americans to work from home and avoid restaurants and discretionary travel as well as telling older Americans and those with serious underlying health conditions to isolate themselves.
Dr. Fauci: Remdesivier study shows a drug can block this virus
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said at the White House Wednesday that a study on the drug Remdisivir shows that it "can block" the coronavirus.
Fauci's remarks came Wednesday during an Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, the Coronavirus Task Force and Louisiana Governor Bel Edwards. He added that the result was a strong "proof of concept" for the drug.
Fauci went on to say remdisivir had produced a minor improvement on deaths - 11% for the placebo arm of the study and 8% for those treated with remdesivir.
He cited a "31% improvement" with the drug, without providing details.
Trump called it "a very positive event."
Remdesivir was invented by Gilead a decade ago and has shown promise against a variety of viruses in laboratory and animal experiments. If shown to prevent people from dying and being put on ventilators, it could give health officials and political leaders greater confidence as they seek to reopen the economy.
The NIAID study is the most rigorous test to date of the potential treatment because it is a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, the gold standard for seeing if a drug is safe and effective.
A cohort of patients receive a dummy treatment instead of the real drug, without patients and treating doctors knowing which one the patients are getting. It provides the best comparison of how people treated with the drug fared in relation to those who did not get the drug.
Federal government gives cleaning advice to offices and schools
Federal authorities are giving cleaning and disinfecting tips for schools and workplaces to help deal with the coronavirus.
The Environmental Protection Agency and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the cleaning guidelines Wednesday.
The guidelines urge Americans to draw up plans to clean areas with soap and water and disinfectant. Recommendations include ensuring custodians have proper protective gear.
EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler says the cleaning guidelines will “help the country reopen as safely as possible.”
Cleaning workplaces and schools will be part of reopening after weeks and months of lockdown from the outbreak. The shutdown has thrown tens of millions of Americans out of work and sent the U.S. economy plunging.
The Trump administration has vacillated between prodding states to reopen businesses and schools to get the economy going and urging caution to try to limit the spread.
US economy shrank at 4.8% rate last quarter as virus struck
The U.S. economy shrank at a 4.8% annual rate last quarter as the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the country and began triggering a recession that will end the longest expansion on record.
The Commerce Department says the gross domestic product, the total output of goods and services, posted a quarterly drop for the first time in six years. Forecasters say the drop in the January-March quarter will be only a precursor of a far grimmer GDP report to come on the current April-June period, with business shutdowns and layoffs striking with devastating force.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that GDP will plunge this quarter at a 40% annual rate.
American Airlines announces new safety measures
To keep passengers and crew safe from the coronavirus during flights, American Airlines has announced new guidelines.
In May, crews will distribute sanitizing wipes or gel and face masks to passengers while supplies last.
Flight attendants will also be required to wear face masks on all flights starting May 1.
Germany extends its worldwide travel warning
Germany is extending its worldwide travel warning until mid-June, saying the coronavirus situation is too dire to change the guidance.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says the warning, due to expire May 3, would be extended to June 14 because there has been no change to the danger posed by the pandemic. Maas says he will discuss the matter with European partners in the coming weeks.
He says, “naturally we all hope we won’t need this travel warning after June 14.”
Among other things, the official warning means that Germans who had booked vacations for the dates can get refunds, another likely blow to the European travel industry.
Path to resuming soccer season in Italy narrow
The Italian sports minister says it is increasingly unlikely the soccer season will resume.
Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte announced Sunday that professional sports teams can resume training on May 18. That means Serie A could resume playing games in June.
But Vincenzo Spadafora tells Italian television channel LA7 that “resuming training absolutely does not mean resuming the season.”
He adds that he sees “the path to restarting Serie A getting ever narrower” and that if he was among the presidents of soccer teams “I would be thinking about next season.”
The French government called off the season in that country on Tuesday and Spadafora says that could push Italy to do the same.
South Korea experts downplay possible reinfections
South Korean infectious disease experts have downplayed concerns that patients could get reinfected with the new coronavirus after fully recovering.
While hundreds in South Korea have tested positive again after their release from hospitals, Oh Myoung-don, who heads the country’s central clinical committee on new infectious diseases, told a news conference on Wednesday there was a “high possibility” that such test results were flawed.
He said South Korea’s standard real-time PCR tests, designed to amplify the genetic materials of the virus so that even tiny quantities are detected, doesn’t reliably distinguish between remains of dead virus and infectious particles. He said lab tests on animals suggest that COVID-19 patients would maintain immunity for at least a year after their infections.
He also said it was unlikely that the virus could be reactivated after remaining dormant when it doesn’t seem to be a type that causes chronic illnesses.
Trump says US closer to testing international air travelers
President Donald Trump said his administration is considering requiring travelers on certain incoming international flights to undergo temperature and virus checks to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
“We’re looking at doing it on the international flights coming out of areas that are heavily infected," Trump said Tuesday at the White House. “We will be looking into that in the very near future."
Trump said it has not been determined yet whether the federal government or the airlines would conduct the testing. “Maybe it's a combination of both," he said.
Houston lab mass-processes FDA-approved antibody test
A Houston medical diagnostic lab is now capable of testing thousands of blood samples for coronavirus antibodies.
SynerGene Laboratories, a facility owned by Principle Health Systems, is offering a COVID-19 test developed by pharmaceuticals giant, Abbott Laboratories. It tests for antibodies for the novel coronavirus and can detect whether a person has been exposed.
What differentiates the test from other antibody screenings is that the Abbott Labs version is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Principle Health Systems CEO James Dieter said Tuesday.
“There are a lot of tests on the market right now that are not, but Abbott did go through the painstaking process of getting FDA approval,” Dieter said.
Dozens of blood tests are being marketed in the United States that are not entirely accurate or comparable to one another, according to a report released by researchers at Johns Hopkins University.
Even a small rate of false positives can substantially distort the understanding of how many people have been infected. It’s even possible false positives could outnumber real positives.
