12 Jul 2024

Do you have COVID? Here’s how long the CDC recommends you stay home

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Michelle Marchante | (TNS) Miami Herald

MIAMI — COVID is going around again this summer, with infections rising across Florida and the country.

The good news is that the most common variants circulating in the country — KP.3, KP.2, and LB.1 — cause similar symptoms to previous COVID strains, such as cough, fever and fatigue. And many people can recover at home.

The bad news: These variants have a mutation that make them more contagious.

So, how long should you quarantine at home if you’re sick with COVID? And should you wear a mask again?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations have changed throughout the pandemic. Now, the federal public health agency’s guidance focuses more on symptoms.

Here’s what the CDC’s current guidance says:

What are the quarantine guidelines for COVID?

If you test positive for COVID and have symptoms: Stay home and away from others until symptoms get better overall and you no longer have fever (without the help of fever-reducing medication) for at least 24 hours.

“Depending on the length of symptoms, this period could be shorter, the same, or longer than the previous guidance for COVID-19,” the CDC states.

Once the “stay home period” is over, the CDC recommends taking additional precautions, such as wearing a mask and avoiding crowded areas for the next five days as you might still be contagious. Make sure to wash your hands frequently, too.

What if your COVID cough just isn’t going away?

Don’t worry. While some symptoms, such as fever, are common during periods when someone is infectious, other symptoms, like a lingering cough, might stick around for a while, even though you’re not infectious anymore, the CDC says.

If you test positive for COVID and don’t have symptoms: Take precautions for the next five days to reduce the risk of spreading the disease to others as you might still be contagious. Precautions can include wearing a mask, social distancing, washing your hands frequently and cleaning high-touch surfaces such as doorknobs.

Why did the CDC COVID guidance change?

The CDC’s previous COVID guidance recommended isolating for at least five days and then taking extra precautions. In March, the CDC updated its guidance to make it more symptom-focus, similar to other respiratory illnesses.

The CDC said it did this for various reasons, including because the country’s COVID situation had improved with fewer COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths and also because “we have more tools than ever to combat flu, COVID, and RSV.”

“We considered multiple options for adjusting isolation guidance at different lengths of time. In addition to fewer people getting seriously ill from COVID-19 and having better tools to fight serious illness, CDC considered other factors such as the personal and societal costs of extended isolation,” the agency said. “We also considered the timing of when people are most likely to spread the virus (a few days before and after symptoms appear). The updated guidance is easy to understand, practical and evidence-based, as well as more aligned with long-standing recommendations for other respiratory illnesses.”

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©2024 Miami Herald. Visit at miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

12 Jul 2024

Judge throws out Rudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy case, says he flouted process with lack of transparency

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By MICHAEL R. SISAK

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge threw out Rudy Giuliani ’s bankruptcy case on Friday, finding that the former New York City mayor had flouted process with a lack of transparency.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane formalized the decision after saying he was leaning toward doing so on Wednesday. Lawyers for Giuliani and his two biggest creditors — two former election workers he was found to have defamed — had agreed that dismissing the case was the best way forward.

The dismissal ends Giuliani’s pursuit of bankruptcy protection but doesn’t absolve him of his debts. His creditors can now pursue other legal remedies to recoup at least some of the money they’re owed, such as getting a court order to seize his apartments and other assets.

Dismissing the case will also allow the ex-mayor to pursue an appeal in the defamation case, which arose from his efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.

12 Jul 2024

After embrace at NATO summit, Zelenskyy takes his case for US military aid to governors

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By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and MEAD GRUVER

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Away from Washington, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought to broaden support for U.S. military aid by telling state governors Friday that the world’s leaders should see for themselves the carnage wrought since Russia invaded his country more than two years ago.

Zelenskyy’s plea at the National Governors Association summer meeting in Salt Lake City came days after NATO leaders met in the U.S. capital and pledged more help for Ukraine.

“The only thing we ask for is sufficient support — air defense systems for our cities, weapons for our men and women on the frontline, support in protecting normal life and rebuilding,” Zelenskyy told the governors. “This is all we need to withstand and drive Russia from our land and to send a strong signal to all other potential aggressors which are watching.”

NATO members this week agreed to a new program to provide reliable military aid to Ukraine and prepare for its eventual membership in the alliance. They declared Ukraine was on an “ irreversible ” path to join NATO and, for the first time, that China was a “ decisive enabler ” of Russia in the war.

Yet many Republicans including former President Donald Trump have been skeptical and in some cases opposed to continuing to help Ukraine fight off Russia’s 2022 invasion. President Joe Biden highlighted NATO’s world role and his differences with Trump over Ukraine after the summit.

While governors don’t vote on U.S. military aid to Ukraine, Zelenskyy’s appearance showed his willingness to connect with other leaders in the U.S. to plead his country’s case.

He got a warm welcome, introduced to cheers and thunderous applause by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican and the outgoing National Governors Association chairman.

“There are things that happen in world affairs. Sometimes it’s hard to tell who the good guys and the bad guys are. This is not one of those times,” Cox said.

Cox and Zelenskyy signed a trade agreement between Utah and the Kyiv region. Several governors of both parties pledged in a closed-door meeting with the Ukrainian leader to urge their states’ wealthiest people to give humanitarian aid, said Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, a Democrat.

Zelenskyy’s appeal to governors from both parties could pay dividends if Trump is reelected in November, Green told The Associated Press.

“If Mr. Trump becomes president again, perhaps he’ll listen to some of the Republican governors that were in the room and us, perhaps, as Democratic governors because it’s a humanitarian crisis,” he said.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, said Zelenskyy made “a very, very good case” that has motivated him to urge others in his party to continue sending aid. Stitt had previously called for “imposing all possible sanctions” on Russia but had not come out in favor of funding the Ukrainian military.

“We need to punch a bully in the nose when he’s coming in and trying to take over a sovereign country like Ukraine,” Stitt told reporters Friday. “It seems like a pretty good use of funds. These aren’t American forces on the ground, these are just simply dollars, weapons, technology. It makes a lot of sense.”

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Gruver reported from Cheyenne, Wyoming.

12 Jul 2024

Minnesota United at Houston Dynamo: Keys to the match, projected starting XI and a prediction

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Minnesota United at Houston Dynamo

When: 7:30 p.m. Central Time, Saturday

Where: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, TX

Stream: Apple TV – Free game

Radio: KSTP-AM 1500 ESPN

Weather: 87 degrees, dew point of 76 (miserably humid), 30% chance of rain

Betting line: Dynamo minus-150, draw plus-300, Loons plus-380

Series history: In mid-April, Minnesota controlled the game against Houston at Allianz Field, but the Dynamo walked away 2-1 winners. Prior to that game, the Loons had won seven consecutive games against Houston; Minnesota hasn’t lost away against the Dynamo since September 2020.

Form: Minnesota (8-9-5) extended its losing streak to a club-record six games with a 2-1 loss to the LA Galaxy last Sunday. Houston (8-7-6) had its game last weekend postponed due to Hurricane Beryl, but was on a six-game unbeaten run before losing at Real Salt Lake 10 days ago.

Storyline: Houston broke the bank to sign new forward Ezequiel Ponce from AEK Athens in Greece, a club-record fee that several news sources reported was in the range of $8 million. The Loons may be getting the Dynamo at the right time; Ponce can’t play until the transfer window opens on Thursday.

Quote: “I’m not going to give much air to the narrative that we only do the same thing week after week, because I think there are a lot of subtleties that really differ.” — Loons manager Eric Ramsay, explaining that his team isn’t wedded to playing with a simple back five on defense. The coach explained that even when his team defends with a back five, they often use their wingbacks such that they are attacking as if they were playing with four defenders, not five.

Absences: Dayne St. Clair and Tani Oluwaseyi (international duties) are out. DJ Taylor (hamstring), Wil Trapp (hamstring), Clint Irwin (groin), Moses Nyeman (ankle), and Hugo Bacharach (knee) are out.

Check-in: Michael Boxall was named to New Zealand’s Olympic team for the Paris Games this summer, and will depart following Minnesota’s home game on July 20th. According to the Loons captain, he wouldn’t have gone had Minnesota been playing MLS games during the tournament, rather than the Leagues Cup.

The captain has been to two previous Olympics with New Zealand, and says that the soccer teams get a different, less-enticing experience. “You’re not in the actual host city, you’re not really in the Olympic village, so you kind of miss out on that. You feel a little separated from it all,” said Boxall. New Zealand’s three group-stage games are in Marseille and Nice, which are 496 and 587 miles, respectively, from the Stade de France in Paris.

Projected XI: In a 5-2-3 formation, LW Bongokuhle Hlongwane, CF Teemu Pukki, RW Sang Bin Jeong; CM Robin Lod, CM Alejandro Bran; LWB Joseph Rosales, LCB Devin Padelford, CB Micky Tapias, RCB Michael Boxall, RWB Caden Clark; GK Alec Smir

Scouting report: Houston is signing Ponce in part because the Dynamo are having trouble scoring. Austin is the only team in the Western Conference with fewer than Houston’s 29 goals this season. The Loons, meanwhile, have allowed 16 goals in their six-game losing run, causing manager Eric Ramsay to say that his team needed to go “back to basics” defensively.

Prediction: Minnesota has been close to picking up points in several games during its losing streak, and the Loons finally pull it off in this one with a 1-1 draw.