In a potential leap forward in the global fight against the pandemic, drugmaker Merck said Friday that its experimental pill for people sick with COVID-19 reduced hospitalizations and deaths by half.
That could add a whole new easy-to-use weapon to an arsenal that already includes the COVID-19 vaccine.
The company said it will soon ask health officials in the U.S. and around the world to authorize the pill’s use. A decision from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could come within weeks after that, and the drug, if it gets the OK, could be distributed quickly soon afterward.
If your house is anything like mine, you probably have a host of tea towels lying around: There’s one by the kitchen sink, another hanging in the powder room, and five more tucked away in a drawer, ready to rotate in when the others need to be thrown in the wash.
But what actually makes a tea towel a tea towel, and why are they called tea towels in the first place?
The main difference comes down to the material: Unlike your run-of-the-mill, super-absorbent bath or hand towels, tea towels are generally flat-woven from linen or cotton, rather than made of a higher-pile material like terry cloth, so as not to leave lint or streaks behind.
While tea towels are nearly ubiquitous these days, the tea towel’s beginnings were far from humble. It’s thought that they first became popular in 18th century England, when textiles became more easily accessible. Often made from soft linen, tea towels were a favorite accessory amongst the upper echelons of English society, as the ladies of the house used them during tea service and for drying cherished china. (This was apparently one of the jobs they didn’t pass off to servants, as they didn’t want to risk any broken saucers. The horror!) The linen tea towels were also a way for women to show off their decorative stitching skills, as they would embroider them to coordinate with the rest of their table linens.
Boston researchers are studying another potential weapon in the coronavirus fight. Brigham and Women’s Hospital will look at whether vitamin D can lessen the severity of COVID-19 symptoms. Researchers are also studying whether vitamin D supplements reduce the chance of becoming infected if you have been exposed to someone in your household who tested positive … Read more
A new stay-at-home order will be imposed on Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley Sunday night, as the coronavirus crisis spirals out of control with a speed that has exceeded health officials’ most dire projections.
Some 33 million Californians will be subject to the new order, representing 84% of the state’s population. The state mandated the restrictions in the Southland and Central Valley as capacity at hospitals’ intensive care units hit dangerously low levels. Five Bay Area counties will also begin lockdown restrictions in the coming days despite not yet reaching the threshold at which such action is mandated by the state.
The rules are less sweeping than California’s pioneering stay-at-home order in the spring, which is credited with slowing the first COVID-19 wave. But the new order will change daily life for many, especially in suburban Southern California counties like Orange and Ventura, which so far have enjoyed more open economies than hard-hit Los Angeles County.
Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley will implement the order Sunday at 11:59 p.m. Restaurants must halt in-person dining and can offer food only for delivery and takeout. Gatherings of people from different households will be prohibited, except for outdoor church services and political demonstrations. Affected communities will be required to close hair and nail salons, playgrounds, zoos, museums, card rooms, aquariums and wineries. Nonessential travel and use of hotels for leisure will be banned, as will overnight, short-term stays at campgrounds. All retail can remain open, but at 20% capacity.
