Funerals now prohibited in state
Add funerals to the list of prohibited social gatherings under Washington state’s “social-distancing” order intended to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Sports and arts events had already shuttered after Gov. Jay Inslee’s Monday proclamation shutting down restaurants, bars, theaters and other places where people congregate.
On Thursday, the Washington State Department of Licensing clarified the proclamation, emphasizing the prohibition on funeral and memorial services. (Weddings are also prohibited.)
“This statewide closure of entertainment, leisure and non-essential services includes funerals,” the department wrote in an email to funeral directors around the state.
— The Seattle Times
Inslee restricts medical, dental procedures to save supplies
Many medical and dental procedures in Washington were banned by Gov. Jay Inslee in an effort to keep protective equipment available for health care workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
Inslee issued a proclamation that covers non-emergency services and elective procedures for the next two months, saying the supply chain for equipment has been disrupted worldwide. It applies to all hospitals, surgery centers and dental, orthodontic and endodontic offices in the state.
Banned procedures include:
• Most joint replacements
• Most cataract and lens surgeries
• Non-urgent cardiac procedures
• Cosmetic procedures
• Some endoscopy • Some interventional radiology services
It does not apply to patients with heart attacks or strokes, or in motor vehicle accidents. Hospitals and surgery centers can perform procedures if the delay would result in a worse condition for the patient. Dental procedures to relieve pain or manage an infection are also not part of the ban.
— The Spokesman-Review
Coronavirus crisis pushes back Tax Day to July 15
Tax Day is coming 90 days late this year — and you can thank coronavirus for the reprieve.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Americans don’t have to file or pay taxes until July 15 instead of the usual April 15 deadline.
The move means Americans who owe Uncle Sam will keep more money in their pocket longer. Those who are expecting a refund should still file as soon as possible so they get their cash.
The feds are trying to pump as much money into the economy as possible amid dire economic predictions over the global pandemic.
The IRS had already pushed back the deadline for payments. But it had said taxpayers would still have to file by April 15, a deadline that has now been delayed for three months.
— New York Daily News
Seattle team gets funding to start human trials of coronavirus treatment
Seattle’s Infectious Disease Research Institute has received seven-figure funding to begin human trials on a potentially groundbreaking novel coronavirus treatment.
The study could launch within weeks, take about 11 months to complete, and enroll about 100 patients diagnosed with a COVID-19 infection that’s causing moderate to severe pneumonia. It would deploy cancer-fighting NK-cells as an immunotherapy treatment for the coronavirus rather than the current approach of antiviral medication.
“Antivirals try to kill the virus itself but unfortunately most act in a way that’s pretty slow,” Dr. Corey Casper, CEO of the institute, told The Seattle Times in an interview Thursday. “When COVID-19 patients get very sick in the hospital, the problem is not just due to the virus, but the body trying to fight that virus. In some of the organs like the lungs, there’s ‘friendly fire’ so to speak. The inflammation that occurs when the body tries to fight that damage sets off damage.”
The treatment is currently used safely in early clinical trials for lymphoma, leukemia and multiple-myeloma and pioneered by New Jersey-based biotech company Celularity, which will provide the funding for the COVID-19 trials.
Celularity has filed an investigational new drug application with the FDA, which would have to approve the trials going ahead at medical centers nationwide. That typically takes about seven weeks, but Casper hopes to cut that significantly and said — if all goes well — researchers should start seeing within a couple of weeks after that whether patients are responding positively.
Casper said about half of the Infectious Disease Research Institute’s 55 employees will be devoted to the trials.
Reports out of China say initial cases of severe COVID-19 infection were found to be related to lower counts of NK-cells.
— The Seattle Times
China reports no new virus infections
BEIJING —For a second consecutive day, China has reported zero locally transmitted coronavirus infections, while the number of “imported” cases has risen to 39.
There were no new locally transmitted coronavirus infections in the original epicenter of the disease in Hubei province or elsewhere across mainland China over the past day, the National Health Commission said Friday.
The commission counted three new deaths across the country, including two in Hubei province.
There were 39 new cases of “imported” infections among travelers who came from abroad — the largest daily number reported so far.
So far, 80,967 people have fallen ill with the coronavirus in China and 3,248 have died, while 71,150 have recovered to date, according to the commission.
— McClatchy News Service
