2 Died After Weeklong Event At N.C. Church That Drew At Least 1,000
In news from other states: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy goes into self-quarantine; as many as 3,073 people in Kentucky may have died from COVID so far; New York braces for second wave; and more.
AP:
2 Dead From COVID-19 Cases Tied To N Carolina Church Event
A COVID-19 outbreak linked to a multi-day church event in North Carolina has left at least two people dead, health officials said Wednesday. Mecklenburg County authorities said there are now 68 cases since the local health department initially reported the outbreak on Saturday, The Charlotte Observer reported. That was one week after the conclusion of the Oct. 4-11 event at the United House of Prayer for All People in Charlotte. The county said at least four people have been hospitalized. (10/21)
In news from New Jersey and New York —
Politico:
Murphy Begins Self-Quarantine After Senior Staffer Tests Positive For Covid
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy abruptly left a press event in Camden County on Wednesday minutes after learning that one of his senior staffers had tested positive for the coronavirus. Though Murphy has tested negative for the virus, he and First Lady Tammy Murphy will quarantine until the end of the weekend, Communications Director Mahen Gunaratna said in a statement. (Landergan and Sutton, 10/21)
The New York Times:
Is A Second Wave Starting? New Yorkers Are Steeling Themselves
A father of three in Brooklyn is back to stockpiling medicine and rubbing alcohol. A publicist has put her plan to return to her office in Manhattan on hold indefinitely. And a mother in Central Park has again — and again — delayed taking her 15-month-old daughter back to the toddler music classes she loved. “Big groups of kids, we’re not doing any of that,” said the mother, Aneya Farrell, 34. “She hasn’t seen a lot of babies over the past six months.” (Wilson, 10/21)
The New York Times:
Cuomo Lifts Some Lockdown Rules In N.Y.C. Hot Spots As Rates Drop
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Wednesday that some lockdowns in New York City neighborhoods with rising coronavirus cases would be eased, allowing the reopening of schools and businesses that had been shuttered. But stringent restrictions remained in place for other neighborhoods at the heart of the outbreaks in Brooklyn, as well as for several communities in Rockland and Orange Counties. Another neighborhood, Ozone Park in Queens, was added to the list requiring limitations on activity. (McKinley and Goodman, 10/21)
In news from Kentucky and California —
Lexington Herald Leader:
COVID-19 Impacts Have Killed Up To 3,073 In KY, Experts Say
COVID-19 may have killed – directly or indirectly – as many as 3,073 people in Kentucky, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The CDC has estimated that anywhere from 1,249 to 3,073 “excess deaths” have occurred in Kentucky as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The CDC’s estimate includes the 1,363 COVID-19 deaths which have been reported by Gov. Andy Beshear and the state Department for Public Health. But the CDC’s estimate, which lags real counts in the states by several weeks, also includes additional deaths that would not have happened if it weren’t for the pandemic. (Chisenhall, 10/21)
Sacramento Bee:
Many Californians Would Delay Getting COVID-19 Vaccine
Even as the world anxiously awaits a vaccine to end the COVID-19 pandemic, 40% of Californians remain unconvinced they would get immunized if a shot was available today, a new survey released Wednesday found. One-in-five Californians said they would “probably not” and another 20% said they would “definitely not” get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a Public Policy Institute of California survey of 1,701 adult residents. (Wiley, 10/21)
KHN:
Californians Asked To Pony Up For Stem Cell Research — Again
In an election year dominated by a chaotic presidential race and splashy statewide ballot initiative campaigns, Californians are being asked to weigh in on the value of stem cell research — again. Proposition 14 would authorize the state to borrow $5.5 billion to keep financing the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), currently the second-largest funder of stem cell research in the world. Factoring in interest payments, the measure could cost the state roughly $7.8 billion over about 30 years, according to an estimate from the nonpartisan state Legislative Analyst’s Office. (Bluth, 10/22)
