“We know from research that physical activity can build a healthier immune system and overall wellness, which help minimize harmful effects of illness and disease,” said Barbara Ainsworth, chair of the American Fitness Index Advisory Board. “This pandemic shows the need to have local parks, trails and connected sidewalks in all neighborhoods that allow people to exercise safely.”
While pleading with Tennesseans to wear masks — and affirming that doing so is not a political statement — Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday said bringing back restrictions that would once again hamper the state’s economy is still off the table .
“I’m not at any point considering closing the economy back down,” Lee said, noting there are “levers and options” to pull around expanding health care capacity.
Some other states, including Texas, have reverted back to previous phases of restrictions as coronavirus cases have continued to mount. Instead, the governor said members of hospital systems in Tennessee have indicated a desire to take the lead, ahead of the government, on solving capacity issues.
Lee and Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey said the state continues to have adequate capacity in hospitals. Piercey said during a bad flu season, the state’s hospital capacity could decrease to single digits. On Tuesday, the state reported as many 2,600 of 12,300 hospital floor beds remain available.
France is aiming to reopen all schools for the new academic year under as “normal” conditions as possible, President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday, despite lingering virus concerns from some parents and teachers.
France gradually reopened schools in May and June as the country emerged from virus lockdown, and most children returned to class. While new infections prompted a few schools to close again, the vast majority stayed open until the school year wrapped up earlier this month.
“We have learned a lot” from that period, Macron said. “We developed a new way of teaching” to take the virus into account.
Schools adjusted schedules to keep children from mingling freely and kept students in one classroom instead of having them move around for different subjects. They were required to air out classrooms regularly, and masks were necessary for middle and high school students.
Macron pledged that teachers would be “well-protected” and that schools would adapt again if the virus takes off again before France’s 12.9 million students return to school around Sept. 1.
Banksy tags coronavirus-inspired graffiti as Italy returns his stolen artwork to France
Banksy is back with a coronavirus-inspired message. The British artist, known for his detailed graffiti and hidden identity, took to the London Underground to make some street art involving face masks and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a video posted to his Instagram on Tuesday, the artist appears to disguise himself as an employee tasked with deep cleaning the trains of London’s metro system, known as the Tube.
But instead of cleaning the interior of a train, Banksy tagged images of rats all over the walls, including one of a rat sneezing across a window. Other rats wear face masks as parachutes and carry hand sanitizer. “If you don’t mask – you don’t get,” the artist captioned the video of him working.
– Charles Trepany
Best Buy to require shoppers wear masks in stores nationwide
Shoppers will need a mask to enter Best Buy stores nationwide starting Wednesday.
The Minneapolis-based electronics retailer is the latest to add the requirement as COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the nation. The coronavirus causes the disease COVID-19.
“This new requirement, which starts July 15, will help protect not only our shoppers and communities, but also the tens of thousands of Best Buy employees working to serve our customers each day,” the company said in a news release Tuesday.
Best Buy says it will provide face coverings to shoppers who don’t have one and notes “small children and those unable to wear one for health reasons may enter without one.”
– Kelly Tyko
Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate appears safe and provides some immunity
A candidate vaccine against COVID-19 developed by the federal government and Moderna, Inc., appears to be safe and to trigger an immune response , according to data released Tuesday from an early phase trial.
But whether that immune response is enough to protect someone from the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 remains unclear, according to several experts who reviewed the results.
Moderna’s chief medical officer Dr. Tal Zaks said although the protective effect of their vaccine can’t technically be known yet, all indications are that mRNA-1273 will be safe and effective.
Zaks said the levels of protective antibodies produced by the trial participants were similar to those found in patients who had recovered from COVID-19, suggesting that the candidate vaccine provides the same protection as an infection. Animal studies also show that mRNA-1273 can protect mice against infection, he said, and trials in primates and Syrian hamsters are underway.
– Karen Weintraub and David Heath
More on the coronavirus from USA TODAY
Where a face mask is required: Many governors are instituting or renewing orders requiring people to wear face coverings in public as cases continue to rise. Is your state on the list? See it here .
Coronavirus Watch: We have a few ways for you to stay informed. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here , and come together and share the latest information about the coronavirus, coping with lifestyle changes and more by joining our Facebook group .
Where are states on reopening? Some are taking preemptive measures to postpone further phases of their reopening, while others have rolled back their phases to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. See the list .
Contributing: The Associated Press
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