State Update: NYC Opens Checkpoints to Register Travelers from Risky States, Forecast Sees 300,000 Deaths by December Without Masks, Ohio Governor Tests Negative for COVID-19 After Testing Positive

August 6, 2020

  • New York City has set up traveler checkpoints at busy entry points to register visitors and residents returning from nearly three dozen states who are required to quarantine for 14 days. Teams began stopping travelers arriving in the city by train Thursday, requiring they complete a state Department of Health traveler form and warning they could face fines as high as $10,000 for failing to quarantine.
  • A new forecast by the University of  Washington predicts the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 could hit 300,000 by December but could be reduced by 70,000 if people consistently wear a mask. The data from the university's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which has been frequently cited in the past by the White House, forecast 295,011 deaths by December. Consistent use of face coverings could cut the increases in deaths by 49%, the forecast said.
  • Ohio Gov. MikeDeWine tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday hours after testing positive before he was set to greet President Trump at the Cleveland airport, according to a statement by the governor's office. Instead of meeting with Trump, DeWine returned to Columbus and was ultimately tested for coronavirus a second time. The second test was a PCR test administered that afternoon, which his office said was "extremely sensitive, as well as specific, for the virus." His wife, Fran DeWine, and staff members also tested negative.


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