7 Major Coronavirus Developments — RI's Honeywell Mask Factory Opens in Record Time — April 18
GoLocalProv News Team
7 Major Coronavirus Developments — RI's Honeywell Mask Factory Opens in Record Time — April 18
The masks will be used by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, per the federal directive to produce a total of 20 million masks per month.
"Building a new production line is a tremendous undertaking that typically takes nine months," said Chief Executive Darius Adamczyk. "Thanks to the dedication of our employees and strong support from our partners, including Emerson (Branson) and several other great U.S. suppliers, we were able to get the Rhode Island facility up and running in just five weeks."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“Everyone was excited and eager to help with this cause,” said Conor Ryan, plant director. “We clapped at the accomplishment, then got back to making them.”
The manufacturing plant, which typically makes safety glasses and face shields, has been configured to also produce the in-demand masks.
The setup usually takes about nine months, but was completed in five weeks to meet the urgent need of frontline workers during the coronavirus outbreak, according to the company.
The aerospace and industrial products company said it is also adding capabilities to make N95 masks at its Phoenix site, which is expected to being production in mid-May. Once both sites are fully operational, they are expected to produce a total of more than 20 million masks per month and create more than 1,000 jobs.
And the company is still hiring -- SEARCH JOBS HERE
READ 7 Major Coronavirus Developments BELOW
7 Major Coronavirus Developments — April 18, 2020
RI Launches Nursing Home Strike Force - 10 Days After Maryland
On Friday, Rhode Island Department of Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander Scott announced that the state is instituting “strike teams” at nursing homes to address the coronavirus crisis.
Across the country, states have already deployed nursing home “strike teams” for over a week and a half — in Maryland, Governor Larry Hogan created strike teams on April 7 -- as well as enacted an order to shut down unsafe facilities.
The goal of the teams, according to Alexander-Scott, is to “deliver swabs to nursing homes, pick up swabs…and have mobile testing units available at hot spots.”
In Rhode Island, questions are emerging about the facility the state has selected to be the state's "specialty nursing home" for those returning to nursing home care after hospitalization.
As GoLocal reported on Friday, the nursing home selected by the Rhode Island Department of Health as the central facility for COVID-19 patients has had 45 violations in 4 years.
Deeply Concerning News from South Korea
The most recent development comes from the Wall Street Journal, which reports that there are growing concerns about the coronavirus reoccurring in previously contaminated individuals.
More than 160 South Koreans have tested positive a second time for the coronavirus, a development that suggests the disease may have a longer shelf life than expected.
Many had volunteered for re-examination after exhibiting symptoms such as coughing. Others submitted to extra testing on little more than a hunch despite not showing symptoms. So far, these patients—all of whom needed to twice test negative before leaving medical supervision—haven’t spread the virus to others, local health officials say.
The initial belief, according to South Korean doctors directly involved with a government review, is that the virus has “reactivated” in the patients, meaning the disease went dormant and came back. The research remains ongoing and inconclusive. The Seoul government’s report will take at least a month to complete, they say.
Need More Data?
The World Health Organization has a collection of interactive data tracking the coronavirus by geography and by time.
The data unveils trends -- Friday's data show that yesterday was the most deadly day in the world. 8,478 died across the world on Friday.
Deadly, Deadly Virus
Comparisons to the flu can be dispensed with now.
The coronavirus is deadly.
"In the United States, the case fatality rate has steadily ticked upward, from about 1.35 percent in late March to over 4 percent on April 15, according to figures compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate saw another spike to nearly 5 percent Thursday because of a large wave of 'probable' deaths reported in New York City," reports Washington Post.
Capt. Tom Moore Becomes a Global Inspiration
British veteran Capt. Tom Moore, who is 99-years-old, has raised nearly $30 million by walking laps in his garden in England.
Numbers
4,177 Cases in Rhode Island
32,181 Cases in Massachusetts
118 Deaths in RI
1,245 Deaths in Massachusetts
675,640 Cases in the United States
34,522 Deaths in the United States
2,178,149 Global Cases
145,329 Global Deaths
546,743 Global Recoveries
GoLocal LIVE Schedule, Saturday, April 18
1:00 PM Governor Gina Raimondo Briefing
EDITOR'S NOTE: Raimondo does not allow Rhode Islanders to hear reporters' questions. Nearly all governors across the country and the White House allow reporters to ask questions directly and for the public to hear the questions and the responses.
