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Arizona Goes After Gym That Refused to Shutdown

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A luxury gym in Phoenix, Arizona, lost two liquor licenses after defying the order to shut down in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Life Time Fitness had two liquor licenses suspended by local officials after keeping their gym doors open.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey issued an executive order shutting down movie theaters, gyms, bars and other businesses for 30 days on Monday. . .

“The Department took action against the liquor licenses of the two businesses as each presented one of a number of enticements to continue regular operations at Life Time Biltmore,” said John Cocca, the director of the Arizona Dept. of Liquor Licenses and Control.

A spokesman for the governor’s office said that a business could face up to a $2,500 fine for non-compliance with the executive order. (Read more from “Arizona Goes After Gym That Refused to Shutdown” HERE)

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Amid Rioting, Coronavirus Cases Spike Among Younger People

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Surprise, surprise: Burned-out buildings and increased crime aren’t the only things left in Minneapolis in the wake of the massive rioting over the past few weeks. Now it appears that COVID-19 cases among those ages 20-29 unnaturally spiked right around mid-June, exactly when you would expect them to, given the mass gatherings of protesters and rioters that commenced about one to two weeks before. Where do peaceful, law-abiding Americans go to get their apology after the media promoted lockdown and then went to the other extreme of promoting mass gatherings and super-spreading events to fuel racial strife?

Even though roughly 80 percent of COVID-19 deaths in Minnesota occurred in senior care facilities, those in their 20s now account for more confirmed positive cases than any other age group, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

But the more relevant point is the trend line. There appears to have been a massive spike in cases among those in their 20s right around mid-June. Those in their 20s consistently accounted for roughly 20 percent of all cases going back to the archived reports from May. Yet they now account for 59 percent of the new cases since June 25.

What is shocking and appalling is that the media and politicians are blaming states for gradually and cautiously reopening after the harsh and arbitrary lockdowns as the culprit behind the spike in more cases. MPR News is pinning the blame for the Minnesota spike on the bars. Yet even the most open states never sanctioned mass gatherings. Numerous studies have shown that super-spreader events are responsible for the lion’s share – perhaps 80 percent – of transmission in a country. That’s why Japan, which had a great outcome without a shutdown, was always careful to avoid mass gatherings.

Yet, somehow, we are to believe it’s the reopening of small businesses that is responsible for the spread, not roving and mobile mass gatherings all over the country.

Not only are uncontrolled mass gatherings more likely to spread the illness than small businesses, but the timing makes it clear they are the culprit for the spread in many places. Infection to hospitalization time seems to be about 11-14 days. The gradual reopening began in late April and early May in the southern states, while the rioting began in early June. While very few young people will get seriously ill, those who are older who catch it from them can get sicker. The increase in hospitalizations happened right around when we would expect it, in mid-June.

Obviously, the places we would expect to see the greatest effect are in the states where there was little herd immunity because the virus hadn’t spread much to begin with, which is the case in most southern states. New York City had large riots and protests, but it appears that the virus has already hit a brick wall after infecting and killing so many in NYC in March and April. The population density of the northeast made the virus spread very quickly long before the protests. But in other parts of the country, all bets are off.

Our government is now using its failure to protect us internally from domestic insurrection and externally from cross-border migration as a pretext to reinstitute lockdown. As I noted on Friday, much of the spike in serious cases at the border is the result of cross-border travel and migration that our government failed to shut down. Now we know that much of the spread of milder cases in the interior came from the mass rioting and protesting. The only things that should be shut down are downright encouraged, while we are forced to wear face diapers and our children can’t go to camp after being out of school for months.

We’ve learned something interesting over the past few weeks. People who rob, loot, maim, and burn don’t care about spreading a virus either. Who would have known? The sad thing is that the silent majority of law-abiding Americans are the ones getting blamed for the lawlessness of the mob and the mendacity of the governing elite. (For more from the author of “Amid Rioting, Coronavirus Cases Spike Among Younger People” please click HERE)

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This State Smashes Daily Coronavirus Record With Over 8,000 Confirmed Cases; Pence Disputes That Virus Surge Was Caused by States Reopening Too Quickly

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By Fox News. California recorded its highest daily coronavirus count for the third time in just over a week on Monday with 8,000 infections while also surpassing 6,000 deaths, officials said.

The uptick comes as the virus continues to make a resurgence after months of unprecedented orders to combat its spread. Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that hospitalizations have increased 43 percent over a two-week period, as well as a 37 percent increase of patients admitted to intensive care units during the same time period. . .

Los Angeles County — the epicenter of the virus in the state — ordered all beaches closed for the July 4th weekend after an “alarming” spike in new COVID-19 cases. Texas officials ordered bars closed for a second time and Arizona has temporarily closed, bars, gyms, water parks, movie theaters and nightclubs.

Calfornia is monitoring 19 counties amid a spike in cases and hospitalizations in those locations. An additional four could be included Wednesday, Newsom said. Statewide, nearly 223,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19. . .

“We are seeing an increase in transmission. We’re seeing more people get sick and go into the hospital,” said Dr. Christina Ghaly, the county’s director of health services. “This is very much a change in the trajectory of the epidemic over the past several days. It’s a change for the worse and a cause for concern.” (Read more from “This State Smashes Daily Coronavirus Record With Over 8,000 Confirmed Cases” HERE)

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Pence Disputes That Virus Surge Was Caused by States Reopening Too Quickly

By Axios. Vice President Mike Pence, head of the White House coronavirus task force, pushed back on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday against claims that the new surge of coronavirus cases is a result of states reopening too quickly. . .

“I know there’s a temptation to associate the new cases in the Sunbelt with reopening, but it’s important to remember that states like Florida and like Texas actually began to open up in early May. For the better part of six weeks, John, we did not see any significant movement,” Pence said.

“In my conversations with governors in Florida and in Texas — and in Arizona in particular — we’re monitoring very closely their hospitalization rate, and we continue to be very confident that they have the supplies and the support and the capacity to give people the … level of care that any of us would want a family member to have.” (Read more from “Pence Disputes That Virus Surge Was Caused by States Reopening Too Quickly” HERE)

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Kids’ Lives Matter: Stop the National Coronavirus Child Abuse

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Haven’t our children suffered enough?

School-age children are quite literally more likely to be struck by lightning than die of COVID-19. And we don’t shut schools during thunderstorm season. Children, including non-school-age infants, are seven times more likely to die of the flu every year than of COVID-19 and 10 times more likely to be hospitalized by the flu. In fact, according to the CDC’s latest COVID-19 surveillance report released last Friday, “For children (0-17 years), cumulative COVID-19 hospitalization rates are much lower than cumulative influenza hospitalization rates at comparable time points during recent influenza seasons.”

Yet, because our government, unlike the Europeans, has failed to come clean on this fact, states continued the school shutdown by shutting down camps in many states. Now some states are continuing this insanity into the fall and plan to traumatize the children by making them wear masks in the September heat all day long in order to attend school. It’s time to draw the line, stand for liberty and science, and demand that the lives of our children finally factor into the decision-making process.

It’s now settled science that children are much less likely to become seriously ill from coronavirus than from the flu, even from the stronger form of COVID-19 this past spring, certainly from the milder form that appears to be spreading in the South. Furthermore, every single country that has studied child transmission has now found no meaningful child-to-adult transmission out of millions of cases. The excuses for treating kids like adults, even as the potency of the virus wanes for adults, have run dry.

Yet, at a time when Canada and Europe are moving away from lockdown and apologizing for shutting schools in the first place, liberals in America are doubling down on child abuse and flat-earth “science.” Schools in Fairfax County, Virginia, are planning only two days per week of in-person schooling. Connecticut is planning long-term trauma mode by mandating little kids wear masks and stay away from each other.

If this is the new threshold to trigger such traumatic upheaval in the lives of our children, then even if this virus became extinct tomorrow, there is quite literally nothing that will stop them from making this the new normal. Any common respiratory infection poses a greater threat to children than this virus that is now spawning policies that cause life-altering trauma to children. I have several children in school, and every flu season there is a week when half the class is absent, and some have fever for more than a week. That is more suffering per capita than anything this virus has caused children at large.

It barely got any media attention, but last week the American Academy of Pediatrics put out a statement “strongly” advocating “that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.” They noted that not only are children not at risk, but they do not contribute to community spread. “Although children and adolescents play a major role in amplifying influenza outbreaks, to date, this does not appear to be the case with SARS-CoV-2.”

Because wearing masks has become a superstitious religious belief in this country, the AAP hedges and equivocates on it, but other countries have rejected it. Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway believe all mask-wearing is worthless and counterproductive because of cross-contamination.

Canada’s government recommends that children not be required to wear masks because “if worn incorrectly, it could lead to increased risk of infection and it is not practical for a child to wear a mask properly for the duration of a school day.” Several European countries, such as Denmark, Switzerland, and the Netherlands have had no problems going back to schools without masks and other draconian measures.

The Canadian government also notes, as the U.S. government did before it became political, that there is no clear evidence that masks stop transmission (viruses are much smaller than the bacteria masks typically keep out). Therefore, Canada recommends that “in general, masks should not be required for school staff if physical distancing is possible and is practiced appropriately” because “facial expression is an important part of communication which children should not be deprived of.”

Also, the countries that are taking a rational and nonpolitical approach to this issue are doing away with the isolation and distancing measures for children. British schools will not require adherence to the mythical 2-meter rule. If we don’t do this for the flu, there is no scientific reason to require this now when dealing with child-to-child interaction.

Overall, we need to ask ourselves, are we willing to trigger an inevitable mental health crisis, not to mention an academic catastrophe, upon our kids so long as the risk of the virus is anything above absolute zero? If so, what else do we refrain from doing in life based on such a low threshold of risk? Over 4,000 children die every year from car accidents, but we never advocate for remote learning in order to mitigate the risk of car fatalities by keeping children off the roads. Close to one thousand children died of drowning in 2016, yet nobody is clamoring for new draconian restrictions on swimming pools this summer. According to the CDC, there have been just 24 deaths among children 5-17. It’s almost certain that they all had serious underlying conditions. Obviously, immunocompromised children can be accommodated without shutting down every school.

There comes a point where protection of children crosses over from an act of love to an act of abuse. We have long since reached that tipping point. (For more from the author of “Kids’ Lives Matter: Stop the National Coronavirus Child Abuse” HERE)

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COVID-19 Surge Causes Nationwide Shutdowns

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More Than 30 Texas Bars Sue Over Gov. Greg Abbott’s Recent Shutdown Order

By The Texas Tribune. Hoping to block Gov. Greg Abbott’s Friday decision ordering Texas bars to close due to a rise in coronavirus cases, more than 30 bar owners filed a lawsuit Monday challenging Abbott’s emergency order.

The lawsuit, first reported by the Austin American-Statesman, was filed in Travis County District Court by Jared Woodfill, a Houston attorney who has led previous legal efforts opposing Abbott’s other shutdown orders during the pandemic.

“Why does he continue unilaterally acting like a king?” Woodfill, former chair of the Harris County Republican Party, said of Abbott in an interview. “He’s sentencing bar owners to bankruptcy.”

Announcing the shutdown Friday, Abbott said the actions of his executive order “are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health.”

Dozens of Texas bar owners — including those who run Machine Shed Bar & Grill in Kilgore, Shots and Crafts in Denton, and Big Daddy Zanes in Odessa — disagree, and they have positioned themselves in a legal standoff with the governor as hospitals across the state fill up with sick Texans due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Read more from “More Than 30 Texas Bars Sue Over Gov. Greg Abbott’s Recent Shutdown Order” HERE)

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Arizona Governor Closes Bars, Gyms, Movie Theaters Over Coronavirus Concerns

By Breitbart. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) announced Monday that there will be a delay in school reopenings and closed bars, gyms, movie theaters, and water parks after a recent surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.

The closures, which went into effect on Monday at 8 p.m., will remain in effect for 30 days and the situation will be re-evaluated at that time. Ducey outlined the orders at a press conference and on his Twitter page.

“Effective at 8:00 p.m. tonight, we are instituting a month-long pause on the operations of bars, gyms, movie theaters, waterparks and tubing rentals,” Ducey wrote in a tweet. “This will help relieve stress on our health care system and give time for new transmissions to slow.”

In addition to the month-long pause on certain businesses and activities, Ducey also prohibited gatherings of 50 or more people, telling residents in the state to celebrate Independence Day “responsibly” and insisting that they wear face masks when they go out into public. (Read more from “Arizona Governor Closes Bars, Gyms, Movie Theaters Over Coronavirus Concerns” HERE)

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California Pulls Back on Reopenings as Florida, Texas Reimpose Coronavirus Shutdowns

By Deadline. The governors of Florida and Texas have decided that recently reopened bars are the cause of record levels of new coronavirus cases in their states. On Friday, they closed down the bars there, shuttering businesses just getting back to work.

Seven states are reporting new highs for coronavirus hospitalizations, according to the Washington Post. They include Arizona, Arkansas, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. More than 800 COVID-19 deaths were reported in the United States on Tuesday, the first time fatalities have increased since June 7.

While Los Angeles County bars and restaurants are not yet under new shutdown orders, many owners are warily watching the situation unfolding elsewhere, as cases continue to spike in their area. Many Florida and Texas venues reordered supplies in anticipation of a surge, and now those investments in goods may not provide a return. (Read more from “California Pulls Back on Reopenings as Florida, Texas Reimpose Coronavirus Shutdowns” HERE)

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Prosecutor Charges Allegedly Violent Protesters With Terrorism

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Oklahoma City prosecutors are charging three violent protesters, who allegedly participated in demonstrations triggered by the killing of George Floyd, with terrorism.

Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater announced Friday that he has charged 21-year-old Isael Antonio Ortiz, 26-year-old Eric Christopher Ruffin, and 18-year-old Malachai Davis with terrorism, the Oklahoman reported.

During protests on May 30, Ortiz allegedly burned an Oklahoma County Sheriff’s office van and attempted to burn a nearby bail bonds office. Ruffin allegedly encouraged the “wanton destruction” of the van, while Davis is accused of damaging the bail bonds office.

“This is not Seattle,” Prater said Friday, according to the Oklahoman. “We’re not putting up with this lawlessness here.” (Read more from “Prosecutor Charges Allegedly Violent Protesters With Terrorism” HERE)

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Almost Half of U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Are Linked to Nursing Homes; The Good News About COVID-19 the Corporate Media Keeps Hidden

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By New York Times. At least 54,000 residents and workers have died from the coronavirus at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities for older adults in the United States, according to a New York Times database. As of June 26, the virus has infected more than 282,000 people at some 12,000 facilities.

Nursing home populations are at a high risk of being infected by — and dying from — the coronavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, is known to be particularly lethal to adults in their 60s and older who have underlying health conditions. And it can spread more easily through congregate facilities, where many people live in a confined environment and workers move from room to room.

While 11 percent of the country’s cases have occurred in long-term care facilities, deaths related to Covid-19 in these facilities account for more than 43 percent of the country’s pandemic fatalities. (Read more from “Almost Half of U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Are Linked to Nursing Homes” HERE)

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The Good News About COVID-19 the Corporate Media Keeps Hidden

By PJ Media. As the pandemic panic porn continues because identified cases are rising, Dr. Fauci is back on television, and the media is once again demanding a national response. However, there is news they don’t share with you that could help reduce the already unwarranted levels of fear. Obviously, that doesn’t fit their partisan agenda. . .

A doctor from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said in a press conference Wednesday that people who are testing positive do not appear to be getting as sick as they did earlier in the pandemic. Dr. Donald Yealy also noted this trend was being seen in the wake of massive protests. . .

Dr. Yealy also noted that the positive case rate was about one in 400, which has remained steady for weeks. He also noted improved treatment protocols and some success with Remdisivir and other medications. Effective treatment is in addition to some success protecting the elderly and a much younger patient load testing positive. . .

Cases with mild or no symptoms are still the population health researchers are trying to get their arms around. However, recent congressional testimony regarding peer-reviewed research on antibody testing caused the CDC to increase the number of infections to 23 million Americans. It estimated that 8.7 million had likely been infected by March using data for flu-like illnesses. For every one person confirmed, serology for antibodies indicated ten had had it. Establishing this infection rate is a game-changing finding. (Read more from “The Good News About COVID-19 the Corporate Media Keeps Hidden” HERE)

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De Blasio Is Making NYC Unlivable

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. . .The New York that survived 9/11 and bounced back stronger than ever is now being brought to its knees. The coronavirus, the economic shutdowns and the frequent street protests, mixed with pillaging and vandalism, are no ordinary hurdles, but they are surmountable — with courageous leadership.

Tragically, that’s exactly what New York doesn’t have. The crises pile up like dead leaves, but leadership is nowhere to be found.

Without it, the city is fast becoming unlivable. The slow exodus of recent years has quickened in recent months, with natives, long-timers and recent arrivals clogging the exits. They’re going to the suburbs, to Florida — anywhere but here.

Always before, the departed were replaced by new seekers. It is impossible to believe that swap will continue.

The problems are many, but the linchpin is Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose performance grows worse by the day. There is nothing endearing about his act, only a long list of examples of how little he cares. (Read more from “De Blasio Is Making NYC Unlivable” HERE)

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Coronavirus Spike Leads to Tighter Restrictions

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Governors have reinstated some restrictions on businesses as new daily coronavirus cases skyrocket.

(Editor’s note: and that’s despite the fact that the CDC just admitted the Wuhan Flu death rate is ten times lower than it originally thought)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Friday that bars will be shut down and restaurant capacity will be capped at lower occupancy as a spike in coronavirus cases across the state has fueled a rising number of hospitalizations and driven the coronavirus positivity rate above 10%. . .

Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases continued to increase in Florida. Health officials reported 8,942 new infections Friday, eclipsing a previous single-day record of 5,511 reached on Wednesday.

Florida announced Friday that bars must be closed immediately. Florida’s Secretary of the Department of Business & Professional Regulation Halsey Beshears issued the decision just three weeks after reopening.

While Arizona’s new daily case counts are growing by the thousands, Gov. Doug Ducey has not pulled back on plans to reopen the state. From Thursday to Friday, new cases jumped about 3,400, increasing the total number of cases in the state to at least 66,400. Deaths also increased from Thursday by 45, making the total number of deaths exceed 1,500. (Read more from “Coronavirus Spike Leads to Tighter Restrictions” HERE)

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CDC: Coronavirus Death Rate May Be Ten Times Lower Than Previously Thought

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By Reuters. Government experts believe more than 20 million Americans could have contracted the coronavirus, 10 times more than official counts, indicating many people without symptoms have or have had the disease, senior administration officials said.

The estimate, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is based on serology testing used to determine the presence of antibodies that show whether an individual has had the disease, the officials said.

The officials, speaking to a small group of reporters on Wednesday night, said the estimate was based on the number of known cases, between 2.3 million and 2.4 million, multiplied by the average rate of antibodies seen from the serology tests, about an average of 10 to 1.

“If you multiply the cases by that ratio, that’s where you get that 20 million figure,” said one official.

If true, the estimate would suggest the percentage of U.S. deaths from the disease is lower than thought. More than 120,000 Americans have died from the disease since the pandemic erupted earlier this year. (Read more from “CDC: Coronavirus Death Rate May Be Ten Times Lower Than Previously Thought” HERE)

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Cases Rise as Deaths Fall

By Katy Grimes. The number of coronavirus deaths per day has continued to fall in June even as the number of cases has increased due to ramped up testing. “Cases” only mean those who test positive for the virus. It does not necessarily translate into hospitalizations or deaths. Most people are asymptomatic [and] the deaths attributed to it are still being overstated, according to a new report at Issues and Insights, which links to the Atlantic’s COVID-19 Tracking Project.

“The average number of daily COVID-19 deaths on a weekly basis has fallen from a peak of just over 2,000 to 700 or so. That’s a roughly 65% decline. And it’s no fluke. The figure has been dropping steadily since April.”

“As Youyang Gu, an MIT data scientist who created the COVID 19-projections.com site, tweeted: ‘To put the increase in deaths in context, Delaware added 69 deaths today: ‘The revision came from identifying 67 deaths dating back to April.’ So if you take out those 67 deaths, the week-over-week deaths have not changed.’”

“Goldman Sachs’ state-level tracker shows similar trends. The volume of coronavirus tests has risen 23% in the past two weeks, but positive results have increased just 1.3 percentage points to 6.2%. Meanwhile, deaths have fallen over the past two weeks by 12%.”

I&I says the deaths are grossly exaggerated, as California Globe has reported, and even noted the CDC adjusted the deaths last month, but it’s buried deeply on their website. (Read more from this story on the inflated coronavirus death rate HERE)

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Nearly 25 Million Americans May Have Had the Wuhan Flu

By Reid Wilson. Nearly 25 million Americans may have contracted the coronavirus, a figure 10 times higher than the number of confirmed cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday.

In a briefing with reporters Thursday, CDC Director Robert Redfield said surveys of blood samples taken from around the country suggest that millions of Americans may have contracted the virus either without knowing it or with only minimal symptoms. . .

“This virus causes so much asymptomatic infection,” Redfield said. “We probably recognized about 10 percent of the outbreak.”

. . .Most people who contract the SARS-CoV-2 virus show few if any symptoms, and only a small percentage require hospitalization. (Read more about the exaggerated coronavirus death rate HERE)
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Coronavirus more likely to hospitalize or kill people with these 5 underlying conditions

By Fox News. As the coronavirus resurges in hotspots across the United States, health officials are doing everything they can to safeguard Americans who are most at risk of the disease.

It’s well-documented that elderly adults and those with underlying conditions are susceptible to negative effects of the virus and are in many cases less likely to recover. But what underlying conditions are most likely to lead to poor health outcomes in patients who contract COVID-19?

. . .These are the five highest-reported underlying conditions in patients with COVID-19:

Hypertension

Cardiovascular disease

Diabetes

Obesity

Chronic lung disease

(Read more from “Coronavirus more likely to hospitalize or kill people with these 5 underlying conditions” HERE)

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