HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong began a voluntary mass-testing program for coronavirus Tuesday as part of a strategy to break the chain of transmission in the city’s third outbreak of the disease.
The virus-testing program has become a flash point of political debate in Hong Kong, with many distrustful over resources and staff being provided by the China’s central government and fears that the residents’ DNA could be collected during the exercise.
The Hong Kong government has dismissed such concerns, saying that no personal data will be attached to the specimen bottles and that samples will be destroyed in Hong Kong after the exercise.
The testing program began at 8 a.m. with residents heading to more than 100 testing centers staffed by over 5,000 volunteers. Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam said at her weekly news conference on Tuesday that over 10,000 people, including most of Hong Kong’s government ministers, had already received testing on Tuesday morning.
“This large-scale universal community testing program is beneficial to fighting the epidemic and beneficial to our society. It will also help Hong Kong come out of the pandemic unscathed and is conducive to the resumption of daily activities,” Lam said.
More than 500,000 people in the city of 7.5 million signed up in advance for the program, which will last at least a week. It is aimed at identifying silent carriers of the virus — those without symptoms — who could be spreading the disease.
The government expects 5 million people will take part in the program, which could be extended to two weeks depending on demand.
Lam urged the public to see the program in a fair and objective light, and appealed to critics to stop discouraging people from taking the test so as to ensure that the program can be as effective as possible in detecting infected people in the community.
Hong Kong’s worst outbreak in early July was blamed in part on an exemption from quarantine requirements for airline staff, truck drivers from mainland China and sailors on cargo ships.
At its peak, Hong Kong recorded more than 100 locally transmitted cases a day, after going weeks without any in June.
The outbreak has slowed, with the city reporting just nine cases on Monday, the first time in two weeks that daily infections had fallen to single digits. However, the government and some experts say that community testing can help detect asymptomatic carriers to further stop the spread of the virus.
Respiratory medicine expert professor David Hui that even though infections have dwindled, the proportion of cases with untraceable sources of infection remain between 30% and 40%.
“That means there must be some silent transmission going on, so community testing has some role in picking up these silent transmitters,” said Hui, who is a public health adviser to the city’s government. “Hopefully if we can identify these people and isolate them for a period of time that may help to break the transmission chain in the community.”
The program is more effective if most of the population takes part, Hui said.
“If only 1 or 2 million people take part, then we may not be able to achieve that objective,” he said.
Other experts, such as Dr. Leung Chi-chiu, a respiratory specialist and a member of the Medical Council of Hong Kong, said that the testing program plays only a supplementary role in controlling the pandemic in the city, due to the long and variable incubation period of the coronavirus.
Leung said that mass-testing may not be the most cost-effective method, as it is not easy to pick up the disease in its early development, especially if a person is not having symptoms or have not had recent exposure to an infected patient.
Even if mass-testing could identify infected patients, they may already be past the infectious stage, he said.
Leung said that large-scale testing will not be able to replace traditional methods of social distancing and contact tracing measures, and should only be used as a complementary measure.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence give a thumbs up after speaking during the first day of the Republican National Convention, in Charlotte, North Carolina, August 24, 2020.
Chris Carlson | Pool via Reuters
As the White House coronavirus task force privately warned state officials that they faced dire outbreaks over the summer, top Trump administration officials publicly downplayed the threat of Covid-19, documents released Monday by the House Select Subcommittee on Coronavirus show.
The subcommittee published eight weeks of internal White House coronavirus reports, which are prepared by the task force and sent privately to governors. The newly published reports begin on June 23 and the most recent report that's published is from Aug. 9. The White House has declined to make all the reports public.
"Rather than being straight with the American people and creating a national plan to fix the problem, the President and his enablers kept these alarming reports private while publicly downplaying the threat to millions of Americans," subcommittee Chairman James Clyburn, D-S.C., said in a statement.
Each report contains data on confirmed cases, testing, the mobility of a state's residents and more for every state. The reports also break out data for each county within a state and put forth recommended policy responses for state officials.
"The Task Force reports released today show the White House has known since June that coronavirus cases were surging across the country and many states were becoming dangerous 'red zones' where the virus was spreading fast," Clyburn said.
President Donald Trump and others in his administration have repeatedly advocated for the swift reopening of large parts of the economy regardless of the threat posed by the coronavirus, which has infected more than 6 million people in the U.S., killing at least 183,300 of them. The U.S. has reported more confirmed cases of the coronavirus and more deaths caused by Covid-19 than any other country in the world.
White House spokesman Judd Deere said the "partisan report" was issued for "the purpose of falsely distorting the President's record," adding that Trump and his administration "has reminded Americans to follow CDC recommendations and best practices to slow the spread as we work to reopen."
The data contained in the reports and policy recommendations prescribed by the task force often directly contradict statements made by Trump and other administration officials at roughly the same time.
In the June 23 report, the task force privately warned seven states that they were in the "red zone," indicating a severe outbreak. On June 16, though, Pence wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that the "panic" over a resurgence of the virus was "overblown."
On July 5, the task force warned that 15 states were now in the red zone, adding that Florida "has seen a significant increase in new cases and a significant increase in testing positivity over the past week continuing from the previous 4 weeks." But two days later, Trump said "we've done a good job. I think we are going to be in two, three, four weeks, by the time we next speak, I think we're going to be in very good shape."
On Aug. 9, the most recent of the newly published reports, the task force warned that 48 states and the District of Columbia were in either red or yellow zones. On Aug. 3, Clyburn points out, Trump tweeted that "Cases up because of BIG Testing! Much of our Country is doing very well. Open the Schools!"
The subcommittee added that a number of states, including Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Oklahoma, have failed to heed the task force's advice, including recommendations to issue a statewide mask mandate and to close bars.
"Fourteen states that have been in the "red zone" since June 23 have refused to impose statewide mask mandates per Task Force's recommendations — including states with severe case spikes like Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee," the subcommittee says.
Regardless of how the reports line up with the administration's messaging, public health specialists have repeatedly called for the reports and data contained in them to be made public. Such information can help local and state officials as well as individuals to better respond to the outbreak, advocates for the full release of the reports say.
"We've got a lot of Covid response-related data that's all ready and prepped to be shared with the public and it just isn't being shared," Ryan Panchadsaram, who helps run a data-tracking site called Covid Exit Strategy, told CNBC in an interview in July.
Panchadsaram served as the deputy chief technology officer under former President Barack Obama and was among the early members of the team credited with fixing the failed launch of Healthcare.gov. He said the American public is entitled to public health data and called on the Trump administration to make it public.
"There are a set of officials that are acting as gatekeepers to data that you and I and taxpayers have paid for," he said. "That's critical to a public health response."
Health - Latest - Google News
September 01, 2020 at 06:40AM
https://ift.tt/2DhjKgn
FDA Chief Willing To Fast Track COVID-19 Vaccine Before Clinical Trials End | NBC Nightly News - NBC News
Health - Latest - Google News
https://ift.tt/2zrj9Ud
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — The University of Alaska Fairbanks hockey team and other student athletes are in quarantine or isolation after athletes tested positive for COVID-19 following an off-campus party, administrators said.
The 37 University of Alaska Fairbanks students, including the entire hockey team, were placed in isolation after six hockey players and an athlete from another university team tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said.
Multiple athletes from different sports attended the Aug. 22 gathering, University of Fairbanks Chancellor Dan White said.
There were no university staff members at the party, but head hockey coach Erik Largen was also quarantined because he had close contact with players, officials said.
The university does not know if every member of the hockey team was at the party. All of the players are in quarantine because they have been in close contact while working out together. They have not taken part in formal practices, said Keith Champagne, vice chancellor for student affairs and athletics.
“When we first got a notification that one of the students tested positive from the hockey program we immediately (quarantined) everybody to be prudent and to take precautions of our student’s health,” Champagne said.
Officials expect hockey games and practices will be postponed, although that was not immediately confirmed.
Those who attended the party could face discipline if officials determine they violated the university’s COVID-19 mandates, which were outlined in an agreement signed by students living on campus.
The school’s Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities is investigating and discipline could range from verbal warnings to suspension or expulsion, Champagne said.
“It was poor judgment,” Champagne said.
For most people, the new 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, and death.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
MÁLAGA, Spain — At midday on Sunday, there were 31 patients inside the main coronavirus treatment center in Málaga, the city with the fastest-rising infection rate in southern Spain. At 12:15 p.m., the 32nd arrived in an ambulance. Half an hour later came number 33.
The garbage can by the door overflowed with masks and blue surgical gloves. Relatives hovered in silence outside — one of them in tears, another feeling a pang of déjà-vu.
“My brother-in-law had the virus in the spring,” said Julia Bautista, a 58-year-old retired office administrator waiting for news on Sunday of her 91-year-old father.
“Here we go again,” she added.
If Italy was the harbinger of the first wave of Europe’s coronavirus pandemic in February, Spain is the portent of its second.
France is also surging, as are parts of Eastern Europe, and cases are ticking up in Germany, Greece, Italy and Belgium, too, but in the past week, Spain has recorded the most new cases on the continent by far — more than 53,000. With 114 new infections per 100,000 people in that time, the virus is spreading faster in Spain than in the United States, more than twice as fast as in France, about eight times the rate in Italy and Britain, and 10 times the pace in Germany.
Spain was already one of the hardest-hit countries in Europe, and now has about 440,000 cases and more than 29,000 deaths. But after one of the world’s most stringent lockdowns, which did check the virus’s spread, it then enjoyed one of the most rapid reopenings. The return of nightlife and group activities — far faster than most of its European neighbors — has contributed to the epidemic’s resurgence.
Enjoying the beach in Torremolinos.Credit...Samuel Aranda for The New York Times
Now, as other Europeans mull how to restart their economies while still protecting human life, the Spanish have become an early bellwether for how a second wave might happen, how hard it might hit, and how it could be contained.
“Perhaps Spain is the canary in the coal mine,” said Prof. Antoni Trilla, an epidemiologist at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, a research group. “Many countries may follow us — but hopefully not at the same speed or with the same number of cases that we are facing.”
To be sure, doctors and politicians are not as terrified by Spain’s second wave as they were by its first. The mortality rate is roughly half the rate at the height of crisis — falling to 6.6 percent from the 12 percent peak in May.
The median age of sufferers has dropped to around 37 from 60. Asymptomatic cases account for more than 50 percent of positive results, which is partly due to a fourfold rise in testing. And the health institutions feel much better prepared.
“We have experience now,” said Dr. María del Mar Vázquez, the medical director of the hospital in Málaga where Ms. Bautista’s father was being treated.
“We have a much bigger stock of equipment, we have protocols in place, we are more prepared,” Dr. Vázquez said. “The hospitals will be full — but we are ready.”
Yet part of the hospital is still a building site — contractors have yet to finish a renovation of the wing of the hospital that deals with coronavirus patients. No one expected the second wave for at least another month.
And epidemiologists aren’t certain why it arrived so soon.
Explanations include a rise in large family gatherings; the return of tourism in cities like Málaga; the decision to return responsibility for combating the virus to regional authorities at the end of the nationwide lockdown; and a lack of adequate housing and health care for migrants.
Newlyweds in Málaga on Friday.Credit...Samuel Aranda for The New York Times
The surge has also been blamed on the revival of nightlife, which was reinstated earlier and with looser restrictions than in many other parts of Europe.
“We have this cultural factor related to our rich social life,” said Ildefonso Hernández-Aguado, a former director-general of public health for the Spanish government. “People are close. They like to get to know each other.”
For several weeks in places like Málaga, nightclubs and discos were allowed to open until as late as 5 a.m., as regional politicians attempted to revive an economy dependent on tourists and partygoers. Revelers were allowed only to dance around a table with friends, rather than mixing with strangers — but the rules were not always observed.
The venue was quickly closed, all nightclubs were ordered to shut two weeks later, and bars must now shut by 1 a.m. But critics fear the restrictions are still far too lax.
As beds continued to fill up in Málaga’s hospitals this weekend, residents were still cramming into bars along certain beach fronts until well past midnight. In some bars, the tables were tightly packed together — far closer than the current rules of two meters, or about six feet, allow.
Cleaning the streets in downtown Málaga.Credit...Samuel Aranda for The New York Times
At closing time, drinkers spilled out onto the beaches and pontoons, mostly without wearing masks. There they congregated in groups of more than 20 — a normal sight during any other Spanish summer, but far larger than the gatherings of 10 or fewer now allowed by law.
Some were teenagers who said they had recently recovered from a mild form of the virus, and who now therefore considered themselves immune. Others felt the pandemic restrictions were an overreaction.
“I don’t think Covid is real,” said Victor Bermúdez, a 23-year-old shop assistant at an early morning gathering on a pontoon jutting into the Mediterranean. “Well, yes, it’s real — but it’s not as serious as they say. It’s all a plan to kill the poor and boost the rich.”
During the lockdown, the central government set a clear agenda from Madrid. But with the lifting of the state of emergency at the end of June, certain powers were returned to each of Spain’s 17 regional governments, leading to a disjointed and confused approach.
When regions attempted to enforce restrictions on local life, some of their decisions were struck down by local judges, who argued that only the central Parliament had the power to introduce such measures.
“We don’t have the legal tools that guarantee us the ability to take decisions,” said Juan Manuel Moreno, the president of the regional government in Andalusia, the region in which Málaga lies.
Checking temperatures outside a cinema.Credit...Samuel Aranda for The New York Times
The debate has also become the latest proxy for a bitter conflict over the Spanish Constitution that has been brewing for more than four decades. For federalists and Catalan separatists, for example, the debacle highlights how power was never properly devolved after the death in 1975 of the dictator Francisco Franco. For Spanish nationalists, it instead shows how the process of decentralization has already gone too far.
There are a few basic things to consider. Does it have at least two layers? Good. If you hold it up to the light, can you see through it? Bad. Can you blow a candle out through your mask? Bad. Do you feel mostly OK wearing it for hours at a time? Good. The most important thing, after finding a mask that fits well without gapping, is to find a mask that you will wear. Spend some time picking out your mask, and find something that works with your personal style. You should be wearing it whenever you’re out in public for the foreseeable future. Read more: What’s the Best Material for a Mask?
What are the symptoms of coronavirus?
In the beginning, the coronavirus seemed like it was primarily a respiratory illness — many patients had fever and chills, were weak and tired, and coughed a lot, though some people don’t show many symptoms at all. Those who seemed sickest had pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome and received supplemental oxygen. By now, doctors have identified many more symptoms and syndromes. In April, the C.D.C. added to the list of early signs sore throat, fever, chills and muscle aches. Gastrointestinal upset, such as diarrhea and nausea, has also been observed. Another telltale sign of infection may be a sudden, profound diminution of one’s sense of smell and taste. Teenagers and young adults in some cases have developed painful red and purple lesions on their fingers and toes — nicknamed “Covid toe” — but few other serious symptoms.
Why does standing six feet away from others help?
The coronavirus spreads primarily through droplets from your mouth and nose, especially when you cough or sneeze. The C.D.C., one of the organizations using that measure, bases its recommendation of six feet on the idea that most large droplets that people expel when they cough or sneeze will fall to the ground within six feet. But six feet has never been a magic number that guarantees complete protection. Sneezes, for instance, can launch droplets a lot farther than six feet, according to a recent study. It's a rule of thumb: You should be safest standing six feet apart outside, especially when it's windy. But keep a mask on at all times, even when you think you’re far enough apart.
I have antibodies. Am I now immune?
As of right now, that seems likely, for at least several months. There have been frightening accounts of people suffering what seems to be a second bout of Covid-19. But experts say these patients may have a drawn-out course of infection, with the virus taking a slow toll weeks to months after initial exposure. People infected with the coronavirus typically produce immune molecules called antibodies, which are protective proteins made in response to an infection. These antibodies may last in the body only two to three months, which may seem worrisome, but that’s perfectly normal after an acute infection subsides, said Dr. Michael Mina, an immunologist at Harvard University. It may be possible to get the coronavirus again, but it’s highly unlikely that it would be possible in a short window of time from initial infection or make people sicker the second time.
I’m a small-business owner. Can I get relief?
The stimulus bills enacted in March offer help for the millions of American small businesses. Those eligible for aid are businesses and nonprofit organizations with fewer than 500 workers, including sole proprietorships, independent contractors and freelancers. Some larger companies in some industries are also eligible. The help being offered, which is being managed by the Small Business Administration, includes the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. But lots of folks have not yet seen payouts. Even those who have received help are confused: The rules are draconian, and some are stuck sitting on money they don’t know how to use. Many small-business owners are getting less than they expected or not hearing anything at all.
What are my rights if I am worried about going back to work?
“There is a kind of war going on to show what kind of political system is better,” said Nacho Calle, the editor of Maldita, a prominent fact-checking service.The decentralized approach has led to a piecemeal system of tracking and tracing potential coronavirus victims. Some regions employ several thousand trackers to trace people who might have come into contact with infected people, while other regions hired only a few dozen — slowing the rate at which potential patients are told to enter quarantine.
And even in regions with large numbers of trackers, like Andalusia, health workers on the ground report that the process is still too slow and understaffed in certain locations.
Francisca Morente, a nurse in a clinic west of Málaga, was one of hundreds of local nurses seconded this summer to work as a tracker because of staff shortages at her district’s official tracing unit.
But even now, Ms. Morente is one of just five trackers working at her clinic — not enough to make the hundreds of daily calls that a proper tracing service requires. And even once she manages to track down potential coronavirus patients, those patients still currently need to wait a week until their tests are processed, because of bottlenecks at local laboratories.
“We need more trackers and more resources,” she said. “We need a designated tracker unit in every clinic, instead of this temporary system that we have at the moment.”
Local police telling people to put their masks on outside a bar.Credit...Samuel Aranda for The New York Times
A lack of institutional support for undocumented migrants has also contributed to the second wave, according to some experts. Some recent outbreaks began among foreign farmhands living in cramped communal accommodations.
Barred from seeking unemployment benefits and lacking formal labor contracts, undocumented migrants cannot easily take time off work if they are sick. Nor can they afford the kinds of homes that would allow them to easily self-isolate.
“If I have to quarantine, then I cannot work,” said María Perea, a 50-year-old Colombian cleaner waiting on Monday for the results of a coronavirus test. “And if I cannot work, then I have no money.”
But in general, doctors say that Spain is in a far stronger position to fight the virus than it was in March.
National coordination is improving — the central government last week agreed to a deal to deploy 2,000 soldiers as contact tracers. Testing speeds are accelerating — in Málaga, the biggest hospital can process tests within a single morning, thanks to the recent purchase of a series of robots. Across the road, a makeshift hospital built in a rush in April stands empty, ready for a rise in cases.
“It’s not like the first wave,” said Carmen Cerezo, 38, a train attendant waiting outside the Málaga hospital while her father was tested for coronavirus inside.
“We’re calmer now,” she said.
A closed nightclub in Málaga. For several weeks after Spain lifted its lockdown, nightclubs and discos were allowed to stay open until 5 a.m.Credit...Samuel Aranda for The New York Times
Though stimulus package negotiations did not officially restart after an exploratory phone call between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows last week, the ins and outs of the first stimulus check might shed some light on how a second round of payments could be processed, including the effect on your taxes and how to receive money if you don't usually file with the IRS.
Will you be taxed on your stimulus check? What are your rights?
These rules apply to the first stimulus payments issued in March and could serve as a model for the second round of payments, if there is one.
The payment is not taxable: You won't pay taxes next year on a stimulus payment you receive from the IRS in 2020. The IRS doesn't consider it income and a payment you get in 2020 will not reduce your refund or increase the amount you owe when you file your 2020 tax return next year. You also won't have to repay anything if you qualify for a lower amount in 2021.
Overdue child support: With both the CARES Act and the proposed HEALS Act, you would not receive a check if you owed child support. Under the House of Representatives' Heroes Act, which the Senate did not take up or veto, you would be eligible for a payment if you owed support.
Now playing:Watch this: Sen. Mitch McConnell: 'Haven't given up hope' on next...
1:11
In some cases, payments do need to be returned: The IRS said someone who died before receipt of the payment, a nonresident alien or those who are incarcerated do not qualify for a check. These payments need to be returned if received, the IRS said.
A payment does not affect other government benefits: Your stimulus check will also not count toward determining any other benefits you receive from the federal government.
Feel free to spend it: Once you receive your stimulus money, you can spend it (and the hope is that you will, to help keep the economy moving). If you receive your payment on a prepaid debit card, you can transfer the amount to your own account.
How will you get your payment: Direct deposit or by mail?
A little over 75 percent of the first round of stimulus payments went out as direct deposits to bank accounts, the IRS reported. Of the 159 million payments made by June, 120 million were issued as direct deposits, 35 million were sent by check and 4 million were sent in the form of a prepaid debit card (more about this below).
If you already have direct deposit set up with the government to receive your tax returns or other benefits, the IRS will use that information to send your check. A big advantage to using direct deposit is that you could be among the first to receive your payment. The first round of checks in April went to those who already had banking information on file with the IRS.
How will you know when your stimulus check is coming?
For the first round of checks, the IRS built the Get My Payment online service that let you set up direct deposit for your payment and check the status of your check and see if anything is holding the payment up.
After the IRS sent payments to those it had mailing or banking info for, it set up the Non-Filers tool to help people provide that information if the agency didn't have it yet. The IRS has said those still waiting for a payment have until Oct. 15 to provide the necessary information to receive a check this year.
You may meet the requirements for a payment from the federal government as part of the 2020 stimulus package.
James Martin/CNET
How to use the Economic Impact Payment prepaid debit card, if you received one
Along with paper checks and electronic payments, the US Treasury sent out 4 million prepaid debit cards called EIP cards (learn all about how EIP cards work and if you're eligible to get one instead of a check). The Treasury said it was sending these cards instead of paper checks to some eligible US residents for whom the government doesn't have banking information. The Treasury said you can use the card to make purchases, get cash from in-network ATMs and transfer funds to your personal bank account without a fee. You can also use the card at stores that accept Visa debit cards. Once you receive your EIP card in the mail, head to the EIP card page to set it up.
The debit cards came in plain envelopes and there have been reports that people may have mistakenly thrown their cards away, not realizing the letter contained their stimulus payment. The government can help you recover your card if you've lost or thrown it away. So far, there's no word on whether the Treasury would use debit cards for the second round of payments.
Every little bit helps.
Angela Lang/CNET
How much stimulus money you get depends on your taxes
For the first round of payments, the total amount of your stimulus check is based on your adjusted gross income, or AGI, from your 2019 federal tax filing or, if you haven't filed this year, your 2018 filing.
Who's eligible for the first stimulus payment and maybe the second?
Under the CARES Act, the amount you were supposed to receive depended on your total income in 2019 or 2018. If you qualified, you were to receive one payment. Congress is looking at following similar guidelines for a next round of payments.
Here's who qualified for the first round:
If you're a single US resident and have an adjusted gross income less than $99,000
If you file as the head of a household and earn under $146,500
If you file jointly without children and earn less than $198,000
Your stimulus payment could arrive in the mail or via direct deposit.
Sarah Tew/CNET
How much do you get as a single taxpayer under the CARES Act?
A single US resident must have a Social Security number and an AGI under $75,000 to receive the full amount of $1,200. The sum decreases as your AGI goes up. If your adjusted gross income reaches $99,000, you won't be eligible for the stimulus.
How much do you get as head of household?
If you file as head of a household, you will get the full $1,200 payment if your AGI is $112,500 or less, with the amount decreasing until you reach $146,500.
How much for couples filing jointly?
Married couples filing jointly without children with an adjusted gross income below $150,000 will get a $2,400 payment, decreasing to zero at $198,000.
How much for children and dependents?
One sticking point with the CARES Act was who qualified as a dependent. With the first round, for each child aged 16 or younger in the family, parents received payment of $500. That excluded children over 16 and adults that were claimed as dependents. With the current proposals, the cutoff wouldn't be 16 years or younger to qualify for a check.
If you still haven't filed federal taxes, do that now
While the filing deadline was July 15, the IRS said if you haven't filed your 2018 or 2019 federal taxes, that could affect your stimulus check. Be sure to include direct-deposit banking information on the return -- that could help you get your money faster for a second stimulus payment.
If you're not typically required to file a tax return, you could still receive a payment
The IRS said recipients of Supplemental Security Income will automatically receive the full $1,200 economic impact payment, with no action needed on their part.
Others, including those who haven't filed a 2018 or 2019 return because they're under the normal income limits for filing a tax return, can use the Non-Filers portal to get their payment. To get started, go to the IRS' Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here page and click the Enter your information button. You'll be prompted to enter personal information and, if you want to receive your stimulus check by direct deposit, banking information.
Again, the IRS said anyone who registers with the Non-Filers tool by Oct. 15 will receive the payment by the end of 2020.
What about Social Security recipients?
The Treasury Department said that Social Security beneficiaries who are not typically required to file tax returns will not need to file an abbreviated tax return to receive a payment. Instead, the IRS will use the information on Form SSA-1099 for Social Security beneficiaries who didn't file tax returns in 2018 or 2019.
The IRS said automatic payments should already be arriving for recipients of Social Security, survivors or disability insurance benefits and railroad retirement benefits.
Among other things, the stimulus checks aim to make it easier to put food on the table.
Sarah Tew/CNET
What about those who receive federal benefits and have children?
The IRS said those who receive federal benefits, have dependent children and weren't required to file a tax return in 2018 or 2019 needed to act by late April or early May to receive a full payment this year.
If you didn't submit this information by the due date, the IRS will give you $1,200 this year and the additional $500 per eligible child with your return filing for tax year 2020 -- roughly a year from now.
SSI and VA beneficiaries had until May 5 to update the IRS.
The update deadline for people who receive Social Security, survivor or disability, or railroad retirement benefits was April 22. The IRS said recipients in those groups have been scheduled to receive checks.
For more on how to use the Non-Filers tool, see the section above titled "If you're not typically required to file a tax return..." to learn more.
The deadline has passed to set up direct deposit to have the check sent to your bank account
If you don't have direct deposit to your bank account set up, the deadline to provide your banking details in the IRS Get My Payment portal was May 13. Those who had previously provided the IRS with their banking info can still receive their payment through direct deposit. And you can still use the Get My Payment portal to check the status of your payment.
To avoid scams, the IRS cautions you not to provide your direct deposit or other banking information to others who offer to help you set up an electronic transfer.
Do you need to sign up, apply or request your check?
For most, the federal government will automatically send your check to you electronically or in the mail, if you qualify. If you haven't filed a tax return for 2018 or 2019, the IRS said you may need to file one to receive a payment. Scroll up to the section beginning "If you're typically not required to file a tax return" for details on who is required to file and how.
If you qualify for a payment, the IRS plans to mail a letter about your payment to your last known address within 15 days after it sends the money. The IRS said the letter will provide information on how the IRS made the payment and how to report not receiving the payment if you don't get it. Several CNET readers, however, had reported with the first check that the letter doesn't include clear instructions for what to do if you don't receive the payment. We've asked the IRS for clarification.
The IRS added 3,500 telephone representatives in May to help with potential problems regarding payments. The representatives won't be able to help with problems specific to your payment, however. CNET readers reported being able to get through to the service and receiving help.
COVID-19 - Latest - Google News
August 31, 2020 at 05:29PM
https://ift.tt/3luDIWh
Stimulus check: Income limit, eligibility, fine print and how the first payment could impact the next relief bill - CNET
COVID-19 - Latest - Google News
https://ift.tt/2VQ2gy8
"Do the right thing today," Dr. Deborah Birx said. "Because if we do the right thing today, we go into the fall with much fewer cases."
As researchers race to develop a vaccine to get control of the virus that has infected more than 5.9 million people and killed 183,066 in the US, health experts and officials continue to say preventative measures, such as wearing a mask, practicing social distancing and avoiding crowds can keep infections low and economies open in the interim. But as the pandemic drags on, experts worry that the public has become fatigued or complacent in those measures.
"Right now, we gain freedom through wearing our masks and socially distancing," Birx said.
She urged vigilance, noting that crowds gathered at concert venues can spread the virus, but so too can people gathered in a backyard.
"We know we can't always be perfect. We know that we'll put this message out about private gatherings and something will happen and you'll realize you have been in a situation, you've been around people, you didn't have your mask on," Birx said. "That is the time to make sure you're protecting others in your household and around you by wearing a mask when you're around them, even if they're family."
Vaccine reviews look to increase public trust
Birx said she is hopeful that Americans will choose to get vaccinated once the data becomes available to show that the vaccines in the works are safe and effective.
A CNN poll this month shows that 40% of Americans do not want to get a coronavirus vaccine when it becomes available, even if it's free and easy to access. Such a low uptake of the vaccine could hinder the ability to get the virus under control and return to normalcy.
To increase public trust, several prominent physicians and experts have called for the creation of an independent commission separate from the Food and Drug Administration to review the data from coronavirus vaccine trials.
"I'm hearing this from my peers, from doctors and nurses. They're not anti-vaxxers. They're pro vaccine. They vaccinated their own children. But they are skeptical about this vaccine," said Dr. Kathryn Stephenson, director of the clinical trials unit at the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Part of the problem is that the FDA is perceived as tainted because of a premature authorization of hydroxychloroquine and convalescent plasma, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital.
But Paul Mango, deputy chief of staff for policy at the US Department of Health Human Services, said the eventual approval of the coronavirus vaccine will be the same as for any vaccine.
"There is a thing called a Data Safety Monitoring Board, an independent body that is assigned to each clinical trial," Mango said during a telephone briefing. "We have no insight into the data until the DSMB says we can look at it. They can come back and say, 'This is not a good vaccine.' They could come back before we even have 30,000 folks enrolled and say 'We have enough. This looks great.'"
Florida and Georgia see numbers decline
Though the number of cases is still climbing nationwide, at least two states that had previously seen a surge are now reporting some improvement.
The Georgia Department of Public Health reported 1,298 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, marking the first time the state has reported fewer than 1,300 daily cases in more than two months.
Florida, meanwhile, reported its lowest daily death figure in months on Sunday: 14.
Neither state has reached those benchmarks since June 22.
Florida and Georgia both are among the top five states in the country in terms of total infection counts.
'We have power against this virus, but it requires all of us to exert our power together'
Coronavirus continues to be a serious threat in the US, but knowledge gained about the virus over the last six months means Americans have power against it, Birx said.
"We see the numbers on the TV and in the news every single day of the number of Americans who have lost their lives to this virus. We don't lose that many Americans to a virus like the flu virus every year," Birx said during a media appearance in Minnesota. "So, this is a serious threat."
But, she said, the US knows how to stop transmission.
The last six months of the pandemic have provided insight into why masks are important, that homemade two-ply masks are effective and the physical distancing is important, Birx said.
"Not only is the virus real, the consequences of the virus is real. The hospitalizations that we still have every week is real. The number of Americans that we have lost to this virus are real," Birx said. "But what is also real is we have a way to prevent its spread, and I think this really needs to be a balanced message of 'we have power against this virus, but it requires all of us to exert our power together.'"
CNN's Elizabeth Cohen, Naomi Thomas, Natasha Chen, Melissa Alonso and Maggie Fox contributed to this report.
COVID-19 - Latest - Google News
August 31, 2020 at 03:35PM
https://ift.tt/32LWMXw
US coronavirus cases near 6 million as Birx says don't wait for vaccine to 'do the right thing' - CNN
COVID-19 - Latest - Google News
https://ift.tt/2VQ2gy8
