Coronavirus updates: FDA grants emergency use for first at-home rapid test; US museums face 'unsustainable' future; 248K US deaths

Jessica Flores, USA TODAY
·6 min read

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday night approved emergency use of the first at-home COVID-19 test that delivers results in 30 minutes.

"This new testing option is an important diagnostic advancement to address the pandemic and reduce the public burden of disease transmission," FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn said in a statement. The test will require a prescription for individuals over the age of 14.

The FDA's announcement comes amid record-setting numbers of cases and deaths across the U.S.

Officials in Los Angeles County, the nation's most populous, are preparing to issue a mandatory curfew for all but essential workers if cases continue to spike. Meanwhile, Chicago school officials on Tuesday released a plan to resume in-person instruction in January.

Also Tuesday, France became the latest country to surpass 2 million COVID-19 cases, the fourth-highest total in the world behind the U.S., India and Brazil, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Russia is nearing the grim milestone with 1.95 reported infections.

📈 Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 11.3 million cases and more than 248,500 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: 55.5 million cases and 1.33 million deaths.

🗺️ Mapping coronavirus: Track the U.S. outbreak in your state.

This file will be updated throughout the day. For updates in your inbox, subscribe to The Daily Briefing newsletter.

Nedra Toponce, foreground, speaks on the phone with her father Clair, 83, during a window visit on Tuesday at Creekside Senior Living in Bountiful, Utah.
Nedra Toponce, foreground, speaks on the phone with her father Clair, 83, during a window visit on Tuesday at Creekside Senior Living in Bountiful, Utah.

Nursing home cases surpass 10K in a week, an all-time high

New coronavirus cases have surged to an all-time high at nursing homes across the country despite federal efforts to shield residents through aggressive testing and visitor restrictions, a new report shows.

Federal data shows 10,279 COVID-19 cases during the week of Nov. 1, the most recent data available. The figures surpassed the previous high of 9,903 cases in late July, according to a report by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living.

The surge in cases among the nation's most vulnerable residents comes as cases, hospitalizations and deaths surge nationwide.

"We have been begging people the last eight months to wear a mask, socially distance and to be careful," said Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of AHCA/NCAL. "Unfortunately, the public has not listened or complied."

– Ken Alltucker

Chicago schools to resume in-person classes in January

Chicago Public Schools plans to welcome some students back into classrooms in January, officials announced Tuesday. Parents can decide whether they want to send their children to classrooms or continue remote learning.

Students enrolled in moderate and intensive classrooms and pre-kindergarten are scheduled to return Jan. 11, 2021. Students in kindergarten through 8th grade will be back on Feb. 1. Officials have not announced a return date for high school students yet.

The Chicago Teachers Union strongly opposed the news, calling it "arbitrary."

But school officials believe children can safely return to classrooms, pointing to other states and some European countries that are keeping schools open despite a surge in COVID-19 cases.

"It’s our moral imperative to do everything in our power to safely open schools beginning with our youngest and highest-needs learners,” said Chicago schools CEO Janice Jackson.

FDA allows 1st rapid test that gives results at home

U.S. regulators on Tuesday allowed emergency use of the first rapid coronavirus test that can be performed and developed entirely at home.

The FDA granted emergency authorization to the 30-minute test kit from Lucira Health, a California manufacturer. The company's test allows users to swab themselves to collect a nasal sample. The sample is then swirled in a vial that plugs into a portable device, that interprets the results and displays whether the person tested positive or negative for coronavirus.

Study: Museums losing millions due to COVID-19

A new American Alliance of Museums study released Tuesday showed that recent COVID-19 surges are doing a number on already hurting museums.

According to an October AAM survey of 850 respondents from across the USA about the continued impact of coronavirus on museums, millions of dollars are being lost – with around a third of institutions facing permanent closure – and job loss is mounting as nearly 30% of American museums remain closed since the March lockdown.

“The financial state of U.S. museums is moving from bad to worse,” Laura Lott, AAM's president and CEO, said in a statement. "Those that have reopened are operating on an average of 35% of their regular attendance — a reduction that is unsustainable long-term. Those that did safely serve their communities this summer do not have enough revenue to offset higher costs, especially during a potential winter lockdown. Without financial help, we could see thousands of museums shutter forever.”

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock issues stricter rules, curfew

Montaga Gov. Steve Bullock announced a new round of directives Tuesday, which will limit crowd size and close bars, restaurants and casinos at 10 p.m., in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The new directives go into effect 5 a.m. Friday.

“The situation is serious in Montana, and it is serious across the nation,” Bullock said. “We need to turn things around over the next few months while we wait on a widely distributed vaccine or else we risk hospitals that turn patients away and risk any further ability to control the spread.”

Montana is among the 36 states with a mask mandate. What are the rules in your state? Check the list.

– Phil Drake, Great Falls Tribune

Los Angeles plans new restrictions, including curfew

Los Angeles County imposed new restrictions on businesses Tuesday and is readying plans for a mandatory curfew for all but essential workers if coronavirus cases keep spiking.

The county of 10 million residents has seen daily confirmed cases more than double in the last two weeks to nearly 2,900. Hospitalizations have topped 1,100, a rise of 30% in that period.

The county, which for most of the pandemic has had a disproportionately large share of California’s cases, issued new restrictions ordering nonessential retail businesses to limit indoor capacity to 25% and restaurants to 50% capacity outdoors. Restaurants already are not allowed to serve customers indoors.

All those businesses must close at 10 p.m. The changes take effect Friday.

COVID-19 resources from USA TODAY

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID news: FDA approves at-home test; Chicago schools; Los Angeles

Latest Stories

  • The Trumps are refusing to turn over the keys to the Bidens — and Michelle and Barack Obama have had enough

    Two days after the 2016 election, the Obamas welcomed then-President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump to the White House in a symbolic gesture epitomizing the peaceful transfer of power. The Trumps have afforded the Bidens no such invitation.

  • Should the U.S. lock down again to stop the coronavirus?

    The United States is facing an unprecedented increase in coronavirus infections. Is another period of lockdown the only way to get the outbreak under control?

  • No to a Loan-Debt-Forgiveness/COVID-Relief Compromise

    I must dissent from my colleague Robert VerBruggen on his proposed COVID-relief bill “compromise” for the same reasons that I rejected David French and Jonah Goldberg’s idea for a “compromise” on Court-packing. Why should Republicans give away the farm in exchange for a promise from Democrats not to take a manifestly harmful and unpopular action that would almost certainly backfire?Like VerBruggen, I would like to see a relief bill passed as soon as possible, but the truth of the matter is that Democrats appear unwilling to pass anything remotely reasonable until Joe Biden takes the oath of office. For political purposes, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer will not budge from their $2.2 trillion HEROES Act and have refused to even consider the Trump administration’s offer of a $1.8 trillion compromise bill. I don’t see the merit in preventing the implementation of a student-loan-forgiveness plan that can potentially be reversed in court by backing an irreversible spending bill that will bail out irresponsible, unsustainable pension plans put in place by Democratic legislatures in blue states while handing out tax breaks to wealthy residents of those same states.

  • California voters do not overturn a 24-year-old ban on affirmative action

    The proposition seemed tailor-made for one of the nation’s most diverse and liberal states. California officials asked voters to overturn a 24-year-old ban on affirmative action in education, employment and contracting.

  • Lindsey Graham on the defensive over calls to state election officials

    Sen. Lindsey Graham was on the defensive Tuesday over disclosures that he had contacted state election officials in states won by Joe Biden in an apparent effort to get them to disqualify some ballots.

  • DNA cracked 1995 cold case murder of nurse, California police say

    "In simple terms ... DNA was under Christine Munro’s fingernails at the time of her murder," the Redding Police Department wrote about cracking the case.

  • Rage, tweets and TV: A vision of a Trump post-presidency begins to emerge

    President Trump will probably not concede the election, according to former advisers, but he undoubtedly has his eye on what's next.

  • Perdue backs out of debate after being called a “crook," Ossoff will face off against empty podium

    Ahead of their runoff election in Georgia, Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff calls Sen. David Perdue "a coward, too"

  • Man accused of shooting two police officers at Breonna Taylor protest indicted by grand jury

    Larynzo D. Johnson faces two counts of first-degree assault and 33 counts of first-degree wanton endangerment.

  • GOP members of Michigan's Wayne County Board of Canvassers vote against certifying election results

    On Tuesday, the four-member Wayne County Board of Canvassers in Michigan failed to certify the Nov. 3 election results, with the two Republicans on the committee voting against certifying the results and the two Democrats voting in favor.Wayne County, the largest county in Michigan and home to Detroit, is heavily Democratic. President-elect Joe Biden has a nearly 150,000-vote lead in Michigan, and Republicans have filed multiple lawsuits in the state in an attempt to keep him from being the certified winner. In Wayne County, the unofficial election results show Biden with 67.99 percent of the votes cast and President Trump with 30.59 percent.The board's Republican chair, Monica Palmer, said during the meeting that because there are discrepancies between the number of absentee ballots recorded as being cast and the number of absentee ballots counted, "we do not have have complete and accurate information on those poll books." Democratic vice chair Jonathan Kinloch replied that "most of this is human error. ... It's not based on fraud." The Detroit Free Press notes there were unexplained discrepancies with the August primary election, and the board unanimously supported certifying the results.Almost immediately after the vote, Michigan Republican Party Chair Laura Cox released a statement saying she was "proud that, due to the efforts of the Michigan Republican Party, the Republican National Committee, and the Trump campaign, enough evidence of irregularities and potential voter fraud was uncovered, resulting in the Wayne County Board of Canvassers refusing to certify their election results."Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes had a different take, calling the vote "an outrageous display of partisan posturing" and saying the Republican members "have chosen to tarnish their personal legacy by picking up the GOP banner of making allegations without any evidence." Disregarding the "will of the voters in Michigan is not only shameful," she added, "but a complete dereliction of duties."Tuesday was final day for the county to certify the results, and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) said the Board of State Canvassers will take over the responsibility.More stories from theweek.com 7 scathingly funny cartoons about Trump's refusal to concede Trump is reportedly 'very aware' he lost the election but is putting up a fight as 'theater' Texas senator suggests it's too soon to declare Biden the winner because Puerto Rico is still counting votes

  • Coronavirus: Chinese citizen journalist faces jail for Wuhan reporting

    Zhang Zhan was in Wuhan reporting on the outbreak when she was detained by police in June.

  • Chuck Grassley, Senate's oldest Republican and third in line to president, tests positive for coronavirus

    The 87-year-old senator chairs the Senate Finance Committee and is the president pro tempore of the Senate, making him third in line for the presidency.

  • Iran says U.S. move against it would face 'crushing' response

    Any U.S. attack on Iran would face a "crushing" response, an Iranian government spokesman said on Tuesday, following reports U.S. President Donald Trump asked for options for a strike on Iran's main nuclear site last week but decided against doing so. "Any action against the Iranian nation would certainly face a crushing response," spokesman Ali Rabiei said, in remarks streamed on an official government website. Citing a U.S. official, Reuters reported on Monday that Trump, with two months left in office, conferred with top advisers about the possibility of attacking the Natanz uranium enrichment plant - but was dissuaded by them from that option.

  • Mitch McConnell rips into the $3.4 trillion Democratic stimulus plan as 'unserious'

    McConnell blasted the Democratic coronavirus relief plan a day after President-elect Joe Biden implored Congress to pass it.

  • Ponzi scheme suspect tries to escape FBI using underwater ‘sea scooter’

    ‘[He] spent some time out of sight underwater where law enforcement could only see bubbles’

  • South Dakota ER nurse recalls how dying coronavirus patients spend last minutes insisting virus isn't real

    South Dakota ER nurse Jodi Doering has seen some disturbing examples of COVID-19 denial as she works through the pandemic.After a Twitter thread of her experiences started circulating, Doering appeared on CNN's New Day on Monday to describe how South Dakota hospitals are overwhelmed with coronavirus patients -- and yet some of them don't believe the virus they have is real. While many patients are "grateful for the care they receive" from nurses, some COVID-19 patients spend their last moments refusing to call family and friends because they're convinced they're going to be fine, Doering said. "Their last dying words are, 'This can't be happening. It's not real,'" Doering recalled. In some cases, patients even insist they have the flu or lung cancer to avoid acknowledging the coronavirus.> A South Dakota ER nurse @JodiDoering says her Covid-19 patients often "don't want to believe that Covid is real."> > "Their last dying words are, 'This can't be happening. It's not real.' And when they should be... Facetiming their families, they're filled with anger and hatred." pic.twitter.com/tgUgP6znAT> > -- New Day (@NewDay) November 16, 2020Doering went on to mention how more people have died of COVID-19 in South Dakota -- 644 -- than live in the town where she's from. South Dakota has the highest COVID-19 mortality rate of almost anywhere in the world -- only North Dakota and the entire countries of Belgium and the Czech Republic rank higher. Without a mask mandate and with low rates of mask wearing, the Dakotas have seen coronavirus cases spike over the past few months. > North Dakota is waaaayyy beyond just merely "hit hard". It ranks as the 1 hotspot for COVID19 mortality rate ***in entire world***. South Dakota, Cook County (Chicago), Wisconsin and Montana not far behind. (HT @greg_travis and @VanGennepD) https://t.co/1dSpAQIz75 pic.twitter.com/X3VZ6sYKC5> > -- Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) November 16, 2020More stories from theweek.com 7 scathingly funny cartoons about Trump's refusal to concede Trump is reportedly 'very aware' he lost the election but is putting up a fight as 'theater' Texas senator suggests it's too soon to declare Biden the winner because Puerto Rico is still counting votes

  • Georgia's Republican secretary of state says railing against absentee ballots cost Trump the state

    Georgia's Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger isn't holding back at this point.Raffensperger has been at the forefront of an intra-party feud in Georgia over his handling of the election, which he has defended ardently, and over unfounded claims of voter fraud. On Tuesday, in an interview with Atlanta's WSB-TV, the secretary reportedly took the fight straight to President Trump, who he suggested had no one to blame but himself for his defeat.Trump repeatedly railed against absentee voting leading up to the election, and Raffensperger believes that if he didn't sow distrust in the system, he could've picked up Georgia's 16 electoral votes, arguing that 24,000 Republicans who voted absentee in Georgia's GOP primaries did not vote in the general election. Raffensperger went so far as to say that Trump incidentally "suppressed" his own base with his complaints. > In new intv with me, @GaSecofState says 24,000 GOPs who voted absentee in primary did not vote in General - says Donald Trump cost himself the election by sowing distrust in absentee: "he would have won by 10 thousand votes he actually suppressed, depressed his own voting base"> > -- Justin Gray (@JustinGrayWSB) November 17, 2020More stories from theweek.com 7 scathingly funny cartoons about Trump's refusal to concede Trump is reportedly 'very aware' he lost the election but is putting up a fight as 'theater' Texas senator suggests it's too soon to declare Biden the winner because Puerto Rico is still counting votes

  • As virus cases spiral, Los Angeles readies plan for curfew

    Los Angeles County imposed new restrictions on businesses Tuesday and is readying plans for a mandatory curfew for all but essential workers if coronavirus cases keep spiking. Hospitalizations have topped 1,100, a rise of 30% in that period. The county, which for most of the pandemic has had a disproportionately large share of California’s cases, issued new restrictions ordering nonessential retail businesses to limit indoor capacity to 25% and restaurants to 50% capacity outdoors.

  • Special Report: A cop shoots a Black man, and a police union flexes its muscle

    By the time Officer Joseph Ferrigno shot a Black man from behind, court records show, the Rochester cop had drawn at least 23 misconduct complaints in nearly nine years on the force. One came from a woman who said Ferrigno, a burly hockey player, slammed her to the ground and broke one of her ribs. Another was from a one-legged man dumped from his wheelchair at a bus stop and roughed up by Ferrigno and two other officers.

  • Biden and Harris met with the CEOs of Microsoft, Gap, General Motors, and Target to discuss the COVID-19 economic recovery. 'I'm a union guy,' Biden said.

    "Unions are going to have increased power" once President-elect Joe Biden comes to office in January, he told CEOs and labor leaders.