NEWS USA TODAY ❚ MONDAY, APRIL 6, 2020❚ 3D
One of the country’s leading experts on infectious
diseases is already concerned about future recur-
rences of the coronavirus.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Insti-
tute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member
of the White House’s coronavirus task force, told
CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that “unless we get
this globally under control, there’s a very good
chance that it’ll assume a seasonal nature.”
To prevent that from happening, Fauci said, re-
search and the development of treatments will be es-
sential.
“We need to be prepared that, since it will be un-
likely to be completely eradicated from the planet,
that as we get into next season we may see the begin-
ning of a resurgence,” Fauci said.- Lorenzo Reyes
Italian officials warn about regressionItaly has steadily shown progress that may sug-
gest the apex of infections has passed, but officials
are now pleading for residents to adhere to the na-
tional lockdown.
The country reported 525 deaths on Sunday, its
lowest daily total since March 19, when 427 were re-
corded, according to the country’s civil protection
agency.
After photos were published that showed large
crowds shopping in cities like Naples, Rome and Gen-
oa, however, health minister Roberto Speranza said
on RAI state television that Italians ran the risk of re-
versing positive momentum.
According to Lombardy vice governor Fabrizio Sa-
la, cellphone data indicated that 38% of the region’s
residents were moving about, the highest that total
has been since March 20.
Spain, similarly, also has shown a steady decline
in infections and deaths. According to the Ministry of
Health, the rate of new deaths fell for the third con-
secutive day, with 674 on Sunday, down from 809 on
Saturday. The country announced 6,023 new infec-
tions, a drop of 1,003 – or 14.3% – from Saturday.
There have been 130,759 cases in Spain, second-most
of any country in the world.- Lorenzo Reyes
British Prime Minister Johnson hospitalizedBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose gov-
ernment has been accused of not reacting quickly
enough to the coronavirus threat, was hospitalized
on the day his country took over as Europe’s deadli-
est hot spot.
Johnson’s office said he was admitted to a hospital
because he still has COVID-19 symptoms 10 days af-
ter testing positive.NY getting ventilators from China, OregonNew York is getting 1,000 ventilators from China to
aid its battle against the virus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo
said in a news briefing.
Another 500 of the breathing machines will be
moved from upstate New York to downstate hospi-
tals being hit hardest by COVID-19, he said.
Oregon also is sending 140 ventilators to New
York, where thousands of new infections are con-
firmed daily.
“We’re all in the same battle here, and the battle is
stopping the spread of the virus,” Cuomo said.
The Chinese government facilitated the effort con-
nected to Alibaba, the massive online retailer in Chi-
na, Cuomo said.- David Robinson
Australia investigates cruise shipAustralian police have launched a criminal inves-
tigation into the docking and disembarking of pas-
sengers from the Ruby Princess cruise ship in Sydney
last month, which led to Australia’s highest concen-
tration of coronavirus cases.
Authorities have been criticized for allowing 2,700
passengers and crew to disembark when the ship
docked March 19 in Sydney. Eleven passengers have
died and the ship remains in Australian waters.
Authorities in Australia have confirmed 342 cases
of COVID-19 in passengers who got infected while on
the ship or before boarding. Hundreds more infec-
tions have been linked to the ship. Not all crew mem-
bers disembarked, and an unknown number are ill.- Curtis Tate and Rasha Ali
United slashes flights at Newark, LaGuardiaUnited Airlines is drastically reducing operations
at two New York-area airports. The temporary reduc-
tions at Newark Liberty International Airport and La-
Guardia Airport took effect Sunday and will last at
least three weeks, according to a letter to United em-
ployees obtained by USA TODAY.
At Newark, one of United’s hubs, the carrier said it
would drop from its current 139 flights per day to 62
destinations to 15 daily flights to just nine destina-
tions.
At LaGuardia, United said it would go from 18
flights per day to four destinations to two daily flights
to one destination.
United, like all carriers, has slashed flights in re-
cent weeks as business and leisure travel has dried
up because of coronavirus fears.- Gary Dinges
Contributing: The Associated Press
CORONAVIRUS NEWS BRIEFING
Fauci voices
concerns about
recurrence
Shelbie Rassler’s senior year at the prestigious
Berklee College of Music in Boston wasn’t supposed to
end like this.
If not for the coronavirus outbreak effectively cut-
ting her semester short, she would have conducted a
60-piece orchestra playing an hour of music she wrote
herself, a perfect end to her studies as a music compo-
sition major.
Instead, she was on a plane back home to South
Florida on March 14. For Rassler, who plays multiple
instruments including piano, guitar and trumpet, not
playing music with her friends wasn’t an option.
After landing, she posted to Facebook looking for
classmates to contribute to a project: If they all record-
ed parts of Burt Bacharach’s “What the World Needs
Now,” she would edit them together into one final en-
semble performance to close out her college career.
Now, close to 1.5 million people have watched Rass-
ler and her classmates call for more love in the world.
The video is one of many virtual concerts going viral
across social media with a worldwide audience hungry
for grace in a time of pandemic.
In California’s Chino Valley, high school choir sing-
ers stitched together 19 screens for a version of Israel
Kamakawiwo’ole’s “Over the Rainbow.”
In Round Rock, Texas, high schoolers sang “The
Lion Sleeps Tonight” in digital collage. Students ages 6
to 15 from a private school in Wellington, Florida, re-
corded a version of Michael Jackson’s “Heal the
World” dedicated to coronavirus first responders.
The specifics change from video to video, but the
arc remains the same: a binned performance, each
hunkered down musician playing alone in front of a
smartphone, a stitched-together video and waves of
digital applause.
As nice as the recognition is, Rassler can’t help but
think about what she has lost. She started playing mu-
sic when she was 7 years old. Nothing makes her hap-
pier than feeling the connection between band mem-
bers and the audience, be it in a concert hall or a Bos-
ton basement.
That connection has now been lost. In Colorado,
gatherings of 250 people or more were banned by
Gov. Jared Polis on March 13, and the musicians in the
Colorado Symphony went home with flutes, cellos
and more in hand to wait out the crisis.
The symphony frequently performs at the open-
air Red Rocks Amphitheatre, one of the most recog-
nizable concert venues in the country. They’re sup-
posed to perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 there
on July 26, a plan now threatened by the coronavirus.
Chief Artistic Officer Anthony Pierce said that
with the possibility of the concert’s cancellation be-
coming real, the symphony’s artistic team decided to
coordinate a virtual performance.
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 is one of the most
famous classical works in history. It contains the
“Ode to Joy” theme, a musical representation of the
brotherhood of man recognizable to millions.
“We said, well, that’s a perfect thing to start with,”
Pierce said.
About 50 musicians contributed to the project,
Pierce said. In the video, they play in their own
homes, upright basses and violas next to family pic-
tures and fireplaces.
Rassler picked “What the World Needs Now” in
part because it had once inspired her.
In 2016, she was in Orlando, Florida, when 49 peo-
ple were killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting. A
recording of the song by Broadway stars to raise
money for LGBTQ organizations made Rassler opti-
mistic in the face of so much darkness.
Rassler gets overwhelmed sometimes just think-
ing about the number of people who have seen some-
thing she stitched together on her laptop.
“For four minutes, someone can turn off the news
and watch this, and it puts a smile on their face,” she
said.
“They’re happy, for just a moment.”
This story was produced in partnership with The
Media School at Indiana University.IN THIS TOGETHER
Berklee College of Music senior Shelbie Rassler rallied 74 musicians to perform “What the World Needs
Now,” a song composed by Burt Bacharach in 1965, during the Vietnam War. SCREENSHOT
Virtual ensembles find
another way to connect
Concerts canceled, remote musicians reach across web to spread joy
Annie Aguiar
Special to USA TODAY
could be charged with terrorism offenses because the
virus could be classified as a biological agent.
“Capitalizing on this crisis to reap illicit profits or
otherwise preying on Americans is reprehensible and
will not be tolerated,” Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey
Rosen said in a separate memo to federal prosecutors
last week.
The scams, however, have not been confined to fed-
eral jurisdictions.
In Louisville, Kentucky, officials advised residents
this week to avoid a number of pop-up coronavirus
testing sites.
Two medical marketing companies offering the
tests, including one that promised results in 24 hours,
charged up to $250 per exam for people who were ex-
hibiting symptoms. The testing sites were scattered
across the area, including one at a local gas station.
Local Metro Council President David James told the
Louisville Courier Journal that the tests are scams.
A spokeswoman for Mayor Greg Fischer’s office said
that the city had received calls about multiple pop-up
testing sites and that police were investigating for
“further review and possible action.”
“At this time, we are advising residents experienc-
ing symptoms to seek COVID-19 testing from hospi-
tals, health care providers or government resources,”
city spokeswoman Jessica Wethington said.
In New York, now the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak,
state Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday or-
dered a Utah company to halt the marketing of a prod-
uct offered as an effective treatment for COVID-19.
“By misrepresenting the effectiveness of products
against COVID-19, companies like Finest Herbalist are
giving consumers a false sense of security, putting
their very lives at risk,” James said.
The attorney general asserted that the company
“targeted consumers through email campaigns, text
messages, and bogus news websites,” proclaiming
the product’s effectiveness. James said the company
offered “protection from the coronavirus with immu-
nity oil” and urged prospective customers to “fight
back against the coronavirus outbreak” using the
“Pure Herbal Total Defense Immunity Blend.”
James also said authorities had issued cease-and-
desist notifications to hundreds of businesses in the
state for charging excessive prices for hand sanitiz-
ers, disinfectant sprays and rubbing alcohol in vio-
lation of New York’s price-gouging law.
“That statute prohibits the sale of goods and ser-
vices necessary for the health, safety and welfare of
consumers at unconscionably excessive prices dur-
ing any abnormal disruption of the market,” the at-
torney general said.
The company, Finest Herbalist, could not immedi-
ately be reached for comment Thursday, but a call
center associated with the company’s products said
it was still taking orders.
In the first federal action targeting virus-related
fraud last month, Justice Department officials filed a
civil complaint in Austin, Texas, against operators of
the website coronavirusmedicalkit.com, alleging a
scheme that sought to “profit from the confusion and
widespread fear surrounding COVID-19.”
Information allegedly published on the website,
which can no longer be accessed, offered prospective
buyers World Health Organization vaccine kits in ex-
change for a shipping charge of $4.95.
“In fact, there are currently no legitimate CO-
VID-19 vaccines, and the WHO is not distributing any
such vaccine,” federal authorities said.
Prosecutors said the site featured a photograph of
Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National In-
stitutes of Health, to promote the marketing effort.
The site, according to court documents, was regis-
tered by NameCheap Inc., based in Phoenix.
The company could not be reached for comment.
Contributing: Brad Zinn, (Staunton, Virginia)
News LeaderFraud
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