Apr 2, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Georgia governor: Didn't know asymptomatic individuals could spread the coronavirus

Photo: Jessica McGowan/Getty Images

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp stated Wednesday that he learned within the last day that asymptomatic individuals can transfer the coronavirus.

What Kemp is saying: "Now those individuals could have been infecting people before they ever felt bad, but we didn't know that until the last 24 hours." During the press conference, Kemp said this "new" information pushed him to order a shelter-in-place order, calling it a "game-changer," AP writes.

Reality check: News reports since at least late February have warned about asymptomatic individuals transmitting the coronavirus.

"I don't think there's any question that someone who is without symptoms and carrying the virus can transmit the virus to somebody else," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, per the New York Times.
Data from China also suggests 33% of coronavirus cases were asymptomatic.

Go deeper: More states issue stay-at-home orders as coronavirus crisis escalates

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Axios

Updated 57 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 5,923,432— Total deaths: 364,836 — Total recoveries — 2,493,434 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 1,745,930 — Total deaths: 102,808 — Total recoveries: 406,446 — Total tested: 16,099,515 — Map.
Public health: Hydroxychloroquine prescription fills exploded in March —How the U.S. might distribute a vaccine.
2020: North Carolina asks RNC if convention will honor Trump's wish for no masks or social distancing.
Business: Fed chair Powell says coronavirus is "great increaser" of income inequality.
1 sports thing: NCAA outlines plan to get athletes back to campus.

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Orion Rummler

1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

In photos: Protests intensify across the U.S. over George Floyd's death

Protesters outside the Capitol in Washington, DC, on May 29. Photo: Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images

Mass protests in Atlanta, New York City and Washington, D.C., sparked clashes with police on Friday, as demonstrators demanded justice for the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after at least one police officer knelt on his neck on Monday.

The big picture: The officer involved in the killing of Floyd was charged with third-degree murder on Friday, after protests continued in Minneapolis for three days.

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Orion Rummler

3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Zuckerberg says Trump’s “shooting” tweet didn’t violate Facebook’s rules

Mark Zuckerberg at the 56th Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany on February 15. Photo: Abdulhamid Hosbas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Facebook did not remove President Trump's threat to send the National Guard to Minneapolis because the company's policy on inciting violence allows discussion on state use of force, CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained in a post on Friday.

The big picture: Zuckerberg's statement comes on the heels of leaked internal criticism from Facebook employees over how the company handled Trump's posts about the Minneapolis protests and his unsubstantiated claims on mail-in ballots — both of which Twitter has now taken action on.

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