The number of deaths from the COVID-19 coronavirus in the United States approached 100,000 people on Friday when news came out that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were combining the results of two different types of tests for the disease in a movement that has been severely criticized by health experts.
The CDC combines the results of diagnostic tests, which show whether a patient currently has the virus, with the results of antibody tests which measure whether someone has had the virus, Atlantic magazine reported. The Centers for Disaster Control and Prevention confirmed the report to MarketWatch.
“It is not just a technical error,” writes Atlantic. “States have established quantitative guidelines for reopening their economies based on these erroneous data points.”
The story quotes Ashish Jha, professor of global health at K. T. Li at Harvard and director of the Harvard Institute of Global Health, claiming that the two tests provide completely different signals. By combining them, the agency made the two sets of results “uninterpretable”.
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“How could the CDC have made this mistake?” I ask. “It is a disaster.”
For more information, see: CDC faces more questions about coronavirus testing, this time about the number of diagnostic tests performed
The news comes as the 50 states begin to reopen after blockades and other movement restrictions, with most of the following CDC guidelines based on careful monitoring of the evidence-based data points. Americans should move more freely during the next Memorial Day vacation, which marks the start of summer.
Now read: States reopen after coronavirus blockade: more beaches and casinos open before Memorial Day weekend
It is also a ABC News / Ispos Survey It revealed that only 39% of Americans approve of President Donald Trump’s handling of the crisis, the President’s lowest reading since the poll started tracking sentiment in March.
NAIL Fox News poll released Thursday They found that only 44% of respondents approved of Trump’s performance, up from 49% in April. The same survey found that 74% approved the management of the pandemic by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease expert, and 70% approved the actions of state governments. 88% of those questioned said they were concerned about the spread of the virus.
See also: US “in relative decline” because “Chinese power is increasing rapidly,” says Ray Dalio
Trump was busy on Twitter Friday attacking Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel after she He called him a “petulant boy” for refusing to wear a face mask at all times while visiting Ford Motor Co.
F,
factory that changed production to make fans and masks. Trump spoke to journalists without a mask, while telling himself and photographing himself while wearing one during part of the tour.
Latest accounts
There are now 5.13 million cases of COVID-19 worldwide and at least 333,489 people have died, according to data added by Johns Hopkins University. At least 1.9 million people have recovered.
The big night movement took place in India, which experienced its largest increase in cases in 24 hours since the start of the epidemic with 6,000 new confirmed cases. This brings the number of cases to 119,419. At least 3,599 Indians have died.
The United States has the highest number of cases in the world with 1.58 million and the highest number of deaths with 94,729.
Russia has 326,448 cases and 3,249 deaths. Brazil has 310,087 cases and 20,047 deaths.
The UK has 252,246 cases and 36,124 deaths, the highest number of deaths in Europe and the second highest in the world after the United States. United States
Spain has 233,037 cases and 27,940 deaths, while Italy has 228,006 cases and 32,486 deaths.
France has 181,951 cases and 28,218 deaths, while Germany has 179,150 cases and 8,219 deaths.
Now read:World Health Organization said lessons can be learned from Sweden, now daily deaths are increasing
Turkey has 153,548 cases and 4,249 deaths and Iran has 131,652 cases and 7,300 deaths. Peru has 108,769 cases and 3,148 deaths.
China, where the disease was first reported at the end of last year, has 84,081 cases and 4,638 deaths.
New York remains the epicenter of the United States. United States With 361,313 cases and 28,663 deaths, according to a New York Times tracker.
What are companies saying?
Profit season turned out to be a mixed bag for some big tech names on Thursday with Nvidia Corp.
NVDA
posting profits and sales that exceeded consensus as data center sales exceeded $ 1 billion for the first time. The two largest segments of the chip giant, gaming chips and data center chips, have shown no signs of pandemic damage after a year of fighting in late 2019. Data center operators continue to launch new chips on their servers. to increase machine learning capabilities for cloud customers and their own use, while video games have seen a surge amid on-site shelter needs.
Lily:Business in the COVID-19 era: Nvidia should dodge the massive effects of the coronavirus
Related:It’s official: Nvidia is no longer just a gaming company
There was less joyous news for Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.
HPE,
who recorded numbers that did not reach estimates due to the limitations of the supply chain.
“Global economic freezes since February had a significant impact on our financial performance in the second quarter,” said HPE CEO Antonio Neri in a statement announcing the results. “We left the second quarter with $ 1.5 billion in orders across the portfolio, which is double the average for the historic portfolio.”
The company is studying licenses, layoffs and other measures to reduce future costs by $ 1 billion. UN B. Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi, echoing concerns from other analysts during the conference call, expressed caution over what he called another “significant multi-year effort” from HPE to cut costs . Neri called this quarter a supply problem due to the coronavirus compared to a drop in IT demand last year.
Also read: Palo Alto Networks Shares Increased Income and Prospects for Home Work
Friday brought figures from the farm and construction equipment maker Deere & Co.
DELAWARE,
, sports retailer Foot Locker Inc.
FLORIDA,
and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Holdings Inc.
VASE
, which offered a first glimpse of how China is breaking out of the blockade.
Elsewhere, the companies continued to issue debt and equity and informed investors and customers of their plans to reopen.
Lily: “The second wave of the Spanish flu in 1918 was even more devastating”: Americans prepare for a new coronavirus epidemic in the fall
Here are the latest things companies said about COVID-19:
• Agilent Technologies Inc.
NAIL,
Exceeded forecasts of profits and revenues during the last quarter. Chief Executive Officer Mike McMullen said the company is well positioned to “meet the challenges” of the pandemic and is ready to focus on “growth, a resilient business model and solid results”.
• Alibaba experienced a “steady recovery since March” after the COVID-19 epidemic protected its operations earlier in the year. The company’s profits and revenues have exceeded analysts’ estimates. The average annual number of customers in its Chinese retail markets reached 726 million in the quarter, up 15 million from the 12-month period ending in December. For the full year, which ended in March, Alibaba saw RMB 7.1 trillion ($ 995 trillion) in gross merchandise volume in its “digital economy”. For the new fiscal year, the company expects more than RMB 650 billion in revenue, while analysts have modeled RMB 659 billion.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
BBBY,
He plans to reopen 600 stores, including 500 in North America, and bring back some 11,000 workers without authorization by June 13. In addition to 500 Bed Bath & Beyond locations in the United States. In the United States and Canada, approximately 50 Christmas tree stores and 50 Cost Plus World Market stores will begin operating. As of February 2020, the company had 1,500 stores and 55,000 employees, according to FactSet. Bed Bath & Beyond Expands Contactless Sidewalk Pickup Services To 1,350 Total Stores, Adding 600. Traffic To Bed Bath & Beyond Website And Mobile App Increased Over 30% In Digital sales have doubled in recent weeks, according to a statement from CEO Mark Tritton. The retailer’s safety plan includes improved sanitation, protective equipment for workers and limiting the number of people allowed in stores at the same time.
• Cleveland-Cliffs Inc .; s
CLF
The AK Steel subsidiary increases base spot market prices for all carbon-rolled steel products by at least $ 40 per tonne, with immediate effect. This suggests that prices are going up at least 4% as the iron ore company said the average net selling price per net ton of flat rolled steel in the first quarter was $ 997.
• Deere reported second quarter revenues and tax revenues which decreased due to pandemic-related business disruptions, but exceeded expectations. Revenues from agriculture and grass fell 18% to $ 5.97 billion, coinciding with the FactSet consensus, while revenues from construction and forestry fell 25% for stand at $ 2.26 billion, but exceeded expectations by $ 2.10 billion. The company expects annual net income of $ 1.6 billion to $ 2.0 billion, compared to a FactSet consensus of $ 2.04 billion.
• E.L.F. Beauty Inc.
ELF,
It exceeded Wall Street expectations for tax sales and adjusted profits in the fourth quarter. The increase in sales is mainly due to “ the increase in productivity in our retail and e-commerce channels, partially offset by the closure of 22 E.L.F. retail stores in February 2019 ‘due to the pandemic. The company has found “a significant drop in retail sales due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer behavior”, and sales are expected to suffer until consumers return to their habits. ‘normal purchase. “. ELF. it suspended tax orientation 2021 and removed $ 20 million from its $ 50 million revolving line of credit, which gave it approximately $ 65 million in available cash.
• Foot Locker announced a higher than expected tax loss in the first quarter as revenues fell and the gross margin rate fell as the pandemic resulted in store closings. The company suspended its quarterly dividend (the last dividend paid was 40 cents per share) “to preserve financial flexibility”. The gross margin rate decreased to 23.0% from 33.2%, while the expense rate increased to 26.9% from 20.0%. Merchandise inventories rose 20.4% to $ 1.46 billion. The company said the gradual reopening of its stores is underway.
Watch:Do you want to work from home after the pandemic? Will you have to pay a cut? Read these pros and cons before deciding
• Ross Stores Inc.
ROST,
posted a surprise loss in the first quarter and sales below Wall Street expectations. Since most of its stores had been open for less than seven weeks during the 13 week period, the company did not report sales from the same store. The company started reopening some stores last week depending on location, and some 700 stores have since reopened. “We have a solid bank of proven and experienced leaders across the business, as well as a very solid financial base with more than $ 3.0 billion in cash, which in addition to our cash balances includes a new line of $ 500 million revolving credit, “said executive director Barbara Rentler.
• Under Armor Inc.
AU,
UAA
increased and negotiated a $ 440 million senior convertible bond offering maturing in 2024. The sportswear maker originally planned to raise $ 400 million as part of the deal. The tickets are sold as part of a private offer and are valued at an interest rate of 1.5% per year. The Notes may be settled for Class C Common Shares, cash or a combination of the two, at the discretion of Under Armor. The proceeds will be used to cover the cost of the capped call transaction which will minimize the dilutive effect of the conversion and to repay the debt.
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