Beachgoers wear face masks and walk dogs on the sand at Island Beach State Park in New Jersey, Saturday, May 2, 2020, on the day New Jersey’s state parks reopened after a closure brought on by the coronavirus outbreak. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry) via Patch.
Daily News Roundup: Gov. Phil Murphy extended the state public-health emergency for another 30 days, to June 7.
“We’ll continue on our current war footing for the coming month,” Murphy said.
“He made the announcement as he noted that the number of new cases on Wednesday – 1,513 – and additional deaths– 308 – continued a downward trend in the coronavirus outbreak”
The graph is from the State of New Jersey.
NJ.com: “It’s unclear when the state can safely reopen without risking a second, potentially even more serious outbreak of the coronavirus.”
UNICEF via NJ.com: “The United States and the state of New Jersey are not even remotely prepared to start putting in place measures to protect the general population from what’s likely to be a major second wave very soon.”
Rutgers University is rolling out a saliva test for the coronavirus, which figures to be much more efficient than the widely used method that involves sticking a swab deep into the nose.
Blogfinger: Many towns are opening beaches and trying to come up with safety plans by Memorial Day, but there are significant concerns. (See our beach post above.)
NJ.com: “Beaches, construction sites, and curbside businesses may be next to reopen,” Murphy says.
Washington Post: ‘The guidelines are simple: Stay home. Avoid seeing anyone outside of your household. If you have to go out, wear a mask and stay six feet apart from others.”
These guidelines are applicable all over the world, but many world leaders are caught breaking the rules.
Hugh Hewett: “The risks posed by cyclists or runners are still unclear. We need to keep in mind, though, that we don’t yet know what size particles released by an infected person actually contain virus and whether that virus is ‘alive,’ or can still infect others.”
Washington Post: “In New Jersey, second only to New York in COVID-19 deaths, people are spending 96 percent of their time at home, just 1.7 percent less than at the peak. That is both the highest stay-home percentage and the smallest change of any state. Gov. Phil Murphy (D) reopened state parks and golf courses on May 2, but his stay-at-home order is still in effect.
Virus spread through the ocean water is a new unknown. When waves crash on the sand a mist is created which launches into the air near the beachgoers. Currently scientists are studying ocean, fresh water, and wastewater for the presence of the coronavirus.
We will be facing a learning curve for quite some time regarding issues such as virus mutations, effectiveness of vaccines, and harm to other parts of the body such as blood clots, cardiac involvement, kidney failure, and permanent neurological damage.