COVID-19 Update, September 14, 2020: The Rewrite

The president continues to insist that the pandemic is rapidly fading away, even if he has to make the CDC rewrite its reports to suit him. At the same time, a mountain of evidence indicates that this is not so. But in the battle between denial and science, there can only be one winner.

The latest:

Staffers at the CDC are being pressured by White House appointees to rewrite and postpone reports about COVID-19 because they undermine the president's everything-is-awesome approach: tinyurl.com/y4ehv7p6. Michael Caputo, the official behind the effort, claims he is battling the "deep state:" tinyurl.com/y3nzbx98. The editor of one of the world's top scientific journals pens an editorial accusing the president of brazenly lying to the American people about the coronavirus: tinyurl.com/y4jq3otv.

Expanding on the comment he made about theatres reopening, Dr. Anthony Fauci says that America will not return to a semblance of normality until mid-to-late 2021, largely because it will take months to widely disseminate a vaccine: tinyurl.com/y66f7zvl. Pouring cold water on the president's insistence that the pandemic is virtually over, he warns Americans to steel themselves for a challenging fall and winter: tinyurl.com/y3y339ps. Indeed, new cases are rising in 11 states: tinyurl.com/y68av2hu.

The World Health Organization reports the highest daily toll yet of COVID-19 cases: tinyurl.com/yy5pc9e6.

Health experts call on pharmaceutical companies to be more transparent about their vaccine programs: tinyurl.com/y4bcsdhj.

The $300-a-week unemployment benefit mandated by the president runs out, with nothing to take its place: tinyurl.com/y46lemmf. If there's going to be a stimulus bill this year, it has to happen now: tinyurl.com/yyl5sv99.

Joseph Biden lays out a robust plan for a nationwide effort to contain the coronavirus: tinyurl.com/yxbtqyra.

The AstraZenca vaccine trial resumes: tinyurl.com/y4lgsadc.

A New York Times reporter volunteers for the Moderna vaccine trial: tinyurl.com/y5bgbs8p. The Moderna vaccine trial at George Washington University gets a significant number of Black and Latino participants: tinyurl.com/y4ad8oyc.

A new study confirms fears that kids can pick up the coronavirus in daycare and spread it at home: tinyurl.com/yy99g2cn.

The pandemic is preventing Americans from getting vaccines, other tests, and preventative care: tinyurl.com/y6tgspq6.

Questions are raised about the use of temperature checks outside restaurants and other public places: tinyurl.com/y6tr9mlm.

Teachers' unions around the world oppose reopening schools: tinyurl.com/y2s8dcfq.

Statistics show that people without chronic conditions die from COVID-19, too: tinyurl.com/y3cgjjpa.

Around the country:

In California:

Blockbuster bingo continues; Warner Bros. postpones the release of Wonder Woman 1984 to Christmas Day: tinyurl.com/y69nr5ek. The film Candyman, scheduled for release right before Halloween, is put off until 2021: tinyurl.com/y5xh5olw.

In Florida:

On-campus students at the University of Miami will be required to take a COVID-19 test every two weeks: tinyurl.com/yy75te79.

Football rules: The Orange County school district will use up to $2 million of its federal CARES Act money to test high school football players, coaches, and athletic directors. English teachers need not apply: tinyurl.com/y45uxl48.

The state posts its lowest daily numbers since June: tinyurl.com/y57ef3j9.

In Maryland:

Even as the state eases its rules, many entertainment venues are slow to reopen: tinyurl.com/y5gfyzls.

In Massachusetts:

Boston College races to contain its COVID-19 outbreak: tinyurl.com/y6gdjkdh.

The pandemic devastates the Boston restaurant industry: tinyurl.com/y6924b53.

In Michigan:

"There's no COVID:" So says one of thousands of maskless attendees at a rally for the president: tinyurl.com/y2tkoad6.

In New York:

Teachers in Jackson Heights, Queens -- alleging that the city's test-and-trace program isn't working --refuse to enter their school building: tinyurl.com/y5oey4tr.

They may have a point; a Bronx school closes after two staffers test positive for COVID-19, and they're not the only ones: tinyurl.com/y3ykzzln.

Quarantine enforcement comes to New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal: tinyurl.com/y2uwelv6.

The state passes new milestones: 102,900 tests in a single day, and only two deaths: tinyurl.com/y2asrser.

The remarkable return, from death's door, of a New York City cop: tinyurl.com/yylvj3sy.

New York Fashion Week goes virtual: tinyurl.com/yyq42al8.

In North Dakota:

The state is whipsawed by fluctuating oil prices and a surge in COVID-19 cases: tinyurl.com/y6rubl8y.

Both Dakotas now lead the country in new COVID-19 infections; they're still arguing about masks: tinyurl.com/yywjjs32.

In Ohio:

Students at Miami University, diagnosed with COVID-19, throw a party; this at a school where 1,0000 out of 20,000 have already tested positive: tinyurl.com/yx8o7c2j.

In Texas:

When it comes to official reporting on the pandemic, confusion reigns: tinyurl.com/y4f5dt6w.

In West Virginia:

A theatre sells cardboard cutouts of audience members to fill up its socially distanced performances: tinyurl.com/y6tfuum4.

Around the world:

In Canada:

Toronto's music venues begin reopening: tinyurl.com/y657vw8f.

In the Czech Republic:

The set of the Netflix film Transatlantic 473 shuts down when an extra tests positive for COVID-19: tinyurl.com/y5b4l83k.

In France:

The number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations is rising: tinyurl.com/y5r692bc.

In Hong Kong:

Cathay Pacific is laid low by the pandemic: tinyurl.com/yxaewqvn.

In Hungary:

As the coronavirus spikes across Eastern Europe, prime minister Viktor Orban drafts a "war plan:" tinyurl.com/yyeol444.

In India:

The country records 96,000 COVID-19 cases in a single day; the government orders additional testing: tinyurl.com/y4e25e6r.

In Israel:

The country heads into a second lockdown: tinyurl.com/yyvmx9jm.

In Italy:

Silvio Berlusconi emerges from the hospital, urges his fellow Italians to wear masks and observe social distancing protocols: tinyurl.com/y6nb39yj.

In Peru:

The country now has the most severe COVID-19 outbreak in the world, according to most metrics: tinyurl.com/y3cgancs.

In the UK:

Boris Johnson's Operation Moonshot would involve testing each British citizen once a week; too bad, by the government's own admission, the technology for this doesn't exist: tinyurl.com/yxd5ukv5. The current testing program can't meet the rising demand: tinyurl.com/y279wyz3.

The country's R number for COVID-19 transmissions rises for the first time since March: tinyurl.com/y58az4bg.

A theatrical photographer, age 27, describes his long, slow road back from COVID-19: tinyurl.com/y53cm8nv.

If you want to produce theatre, take it outdoors: tinyurl.com/y26mg6wk.

The producer of the musical Six and a few other shows announces plans to reopen in the West End in November: tinyurl.com/yxh47u95. The Nimax Theatre chain will reopen in October, also with socially distanced snows: tinyurl.com/y4ymtzeg.

For your entertainment:

Romantics Anonymous, a new musical will stream from the Bristol Old Vic, in the UK, September 26 at 4:00pm; Emma Rice directs: tinyurl.com/yysmxey6.

It's Bel Canto Week at the Metropolitan Opera's streaming service: tinyurl.com/y2g7vedl.

For your pleasure:

Tony Award winners Robert Lindsay and Maryann Plunkett lead the company of Me and My Girl in "The Lambeth Walk:" tinyurl.com/y3la464o.

That's all for today. Stay safe. -- DB

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Previous LSA COVID-19 Updates: plasa.me/lsacovid19resources.