A Warning For Young People Who May Be Infected With Coronavirus. Here’s What You Need To Know About Tuesday’s Pandemic Developments

The World Health Organization warned young people Tuesday about spreading the coronavirus while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention named COVID-19, the third leading cause of death in the U.S.

The WHO warning came from Dr. Takeshi Kasai, regional director for the Western Pacific, who made the announcement during a press briefing. He said the increase in coronavirus cases is being driven by young people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, who don’t know that they are infected, which is putting vulnerable people at risk.

“This increases the risk of spillovers to the most vulnerable: the elderly, the sick, people in long-term care, people who live in densely-populated urban areas and under-served rural areas,” Kasai said.

Images of young people have circulated on social media, showing maskless crowds at large parties, prompting Kasai to call on world leaders and the public to “redouble their efforts” to prevent the spread of the virus.

“We are encouraged to see many countries in the region already adopting new tactics that help minimize the social and economic consequences of COVID-19 and show how we can cope with it for the foreseeable future,” Kasai said.

As the WHO warned young people about the virus, the CDC revealed COVID-19 had become the third-leading cause of death in the U.S., trailing behind only heart disease and cancer.

“COVID is now the No. 3 cause of death in the U.S. — ahead of accidents, injuries, lung disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's and many, many other causes," Thomas Frieden, former director of the CDC, told CNN.

The U.S. has reported an average 1,000 COVID-19 deaths per day for the last three weeks, according to data from The New York Times, and has the highest number of COVID-19 related deaths in the world at 171,000.

"Last week, Americans were eight times more likely to get killed by COVID than were Europeans,” Frieden added.

In other coronavirus news:

• Quest Diagnostics shortened its turnaround time for COVID-19 test results to one to two days. The company made the announcement after receiving backlash for test delays that some suggested made the tests useless. Quest also said it has ramped up its testing capacity to 150,000 tests per day with expected capacity to reach 185,000 tests per day by Labor Day.
• Dust particles were shown to spread viruses, such as the coronavirus, among animals in a research study published Tuesday. Researchers painted the fur of guinea pigs with the virus, and as the animals moved around, the dust particles would carry the virus into the air, infecting other animals. While the study, conducted by the University of California Davis and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published in Nature Communications, does suggest that transmission is possible between animals, more research needs to be done to understand the effects on humans, researchers said.
• More than half of Americans say they might not get the COVID-19 vaccine when approved, according to a poll by NBC News and Survey Monkey. The survey said that only 44% of Americans polled would get the vaccine when approved while 22% said they wouldn’t get the vaccine, and 32% said they were unsure if they would. The survey also broke the results down by demographics with 33% of Republicans, or those who lean Republican, telling pollsters that they wouldn’t get the vaccine and 31% saying they were unsure if they would. As many as 58% of Democrats, or those who lean Democratic, said they would get inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine when approved.
• A study on how urinal flushing can transmit the coronavirus was conducted by Yangzhou University in China and published in Physics of Fluid Power. It suggests that face masks are necessary in public bathrooms. The study showed through computer models that when flushed, a urinal can send coronavirus particles, found in urine and feces, more than 2 feet into the air from the ground. Researchers of the study said, these particles “travel faster and fly father” than a traditional toilet flush.
• Amazon, unlike many businesses, is looking to hire 3,500 new employees as it expands its technology hubs and corporate offices across the U.S., the company said. As many as 2,000 new jobs will be added in New York City at the e-commerce giant’s acquired Lord & Taylor building on Fifth Avenue. Amazon has added 175,000 jobs, of which 125,000 will become permanent, since the pandemic started.
• Qatar Airways said it refunded more than $1.2 billion to nearly 600,000 passengers since March when the pandemic began. The airline said it received more than 10,000 requests a day for refunds at the height of the pandemic. Qatar also said it made good on 96% of requests since March and is providing full refunds to customers,not just vouchers.
• Walmart announced its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, beating analyst estimates as it saw sales surge by 97% during the pandemic. The company reported a net income of $6.48 billion, or $2.27 per share, up from $3.61 billion or $1.26 per share from the same time a year ago. Revenue for the company was reported at $137.74 billion, above analyst expectations of $135.48 billion and up 5.6% from $130.38 billion reported in Q2 2019.
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged residents to follow social distancing rules as the country saw a spike in coronavirus cases. “If the numbers go back down we can open up more. If they don’t, or rise, we must ask what is needed and in any case a further easing of measures cannot take place now,” Merkel said during a visit to the western German state of North-Rhine Westphalia. She also warned of possible fines for not following social distancing mandates.
• New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced hotels now need to require travelers from several states to fill out questionnaires and contact forms before they can be allowed into their rooms. Those who fail to comply with the request will be fined, the mayor said. New York has a mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers coming from 31 states, as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. “This is going to be now a rule here in New York City because we have to get serious about the fact that there’s a real danger here,” de Blasio told a news conference.
• Worldwide there are nearly 22 million cases of the coronavirus, with more than 775,000 COVID-19 deaths, Johns Hopkins University tracking data show. The U.S. has more than 5.4 million positive cases of the coronavirus, with COVID-19 deaths topping 171,000 COVID-19 deaths.