Researchers from Germany are proposing a large-scale experiment that will help them better understand how the viruses spread at large, indoor events. Scientists from the University Medical Center Halle are hosting a live concert in August, called RESTART-19, that will track attendees contacts and movements, testing an audience of 4,000 people in three different scenarios. As part of the study, attendees will wear contact-tracing devices to monitor how many people they interact with and for how long. They will also be required to use florescent hand sanitizer that is visible under ultraviolet light, which will allow researchers to study which surfaces are touched the most in the venue.
In the first scenario, the concert will take place the same why it would before the coronavirus pandemic. The second test will move the crowd through eight entrances instead of two, and have every other seat in the arena blocked off for social distancing. The last scenario will include stricter social restrictions and cut those in attendance by half.
All those who participate will be required to test for the coronavirus in the 48 hours before the event, and masks will be requires at all times. However, the researchers note that attendance is not without risk.
Total Global Cases: Over 15.3 Million
Total Deaths: Over 629,000
Total Recovered: Over 9.34 Million
U.S. Update
The United States reported more than 1,100 new deaths linked to COVID-19 a Wednesday, a total that has not been recorded since May. The country's new death rate has been climbing steadily since June, with new hospitalizations and infections growing steadily throughout the Southern and Western states. On Wednesday, California surpassed New York as the state will the most confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with over 409,000 cases recorded since March. California was one of the earliest states to report cases of community spread in the early days of the outbreak, as well as the first regions to issue stay-at-home orders.
Meanwhile, personal protective equipment in the U.S. can potentially face another shortage in hard-hit states, according Federal Emergency Management Agency (F.E.M.A.) Administrator Pete Gaynor. Specking before the House Committee of Homeland Security, Gaynor warned that increased demand in various states can lead to "micro-shortages" and the country's reliance on overseas suppliers is a "national security issue."
"We're in a much better place than we were coming out of March and April. However, we are not out of the woods completely with PPE," Gaynor stated, quoted by CNBC. Gaynor stated that F.E.M.A. is still competing for equipment, with the U.S. relying on Asian counties to produce the equipment.
On the vaccine front, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Defense entered into a $1.95 billion agreement with Pfizer
The agreement is subject to the vaccine first being proven effective and securing the necessary regulatory approval. The deal also outlines that the U.S. can purchase another 500 million doses from the vaccine partners, the largest vaccine deal yet for the U.S. In addition, the U.S. is planning to offer the vaccine free of charge to citizens.
"Expanding Operations Warp Speed's diverse portfolio by adding a vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech increases the odds that we will have a safe, effective vaccine as soon as the end of this year," HHS Secretary Alex Azar stated in a release. "Depending on success in clinical trials, today's agreement will enable the delivery of approximately 100 million does of this vaccine to the American people."
