Uber to acquire Postmates in $2.65B deal: Report

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/uber-to-acquire-postmates-in-2-65b-deal-report

The week begins with a $2.65 billion deal in the food delivery business.

Uber Technologies is buying Postmates in an all-stock deal, according to Bloomberg.

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Uber's board of directors has reportedly approved the acquisition, with an official announcement expected Monday.

Uber had previously tried to acquire GrubHub Inc., but was beaten out by Europe’s Just Eat Takeaway for $7.3 billion.

POSTMATES PLANNING IPO FILING FOR NEXT WEEK

Representatives for Uber and Postmates declined to comment to Bloomberg.

FOX Business reported last week that, while fielding offers, Postmates was also planning to file paperwork for an initial public offering.

Bubonic Plague Is Diagnosed in China

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/06/world/asia/china-bubonic-plague-inner-mongolia.html

A herdsman in Inner Mongolia was confirmed to be infected with bubonic plague, Chinese health officials said, a reminder of how even as the world battles a pandemic caused by a novel virus, old threats remain.

The Bayannur city health commission said the plague was diagnosed in the herdsman on Sunday, and he was in stable condition undergoing treatment at a hospital.

The commission also issued a third-level alert, the second lowest in a four-level system, warning people against hunting, eating or transporting potentially infected animals, particularly marmots, and to report any dead or diseased rodents.

The city government said it had put in place plague-prevention measures that would remain in force for the rest of the year.

The disease, which caused the Black Death in the Middle Ages, is caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium and is transmitted by fleas that become infected by rodents. In Inner Mongolia, the host is often marmots that live in rural areas.

In November, Beijing officials said two people from Inner Mongolia were found to have pneumonic plague, another form of plague caused by the same bacterium. Pneumonic plague is the only form that can be transmitted person to person, through respiratory droplets.

If not treated, pneumonic plague is invariably fatal, while bubonic plague is fatal in about 30 percent to 60 percent of untreated cases, the World Health Organization says. Antibiotics can cure the disease if delivered early.

The neighboring country of Mongolia also announced on Monday that it had lifted restrictions in Khovd Province after two cases of bubonic plague linked to the consumption of marmot meat were reported a week ago. Health officials said the patients’ conditions had improved, the Ikon.mn news site reported.

Plague cases are found in limited numbers across much of the world. In the United States, about seven cases, usually the bubonic form, are reported on average each year, most often in rural areas of western states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

>>9873112

I fired too soon on that one. I thought it happened this weekend, but have found it now going back to July 1st.

Sorry about that. Should have waited before posting on here.

Downtown Nashville businesses feel financial impact after holiday weekend

https://www.wkrn.com/community/health/coronavirus/downtown-nashville-businesses-feel-financial-impact-after-holiday-weekend/

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee’s spike in COVID-19 cases continues to impact struggling businesses in downtown Nashville, especially after the city moved into a modified Phase Two of its reopening plan before the 4th of July weekend.

The tourism dollars will differ greatly from what bars typically count on for the Fourth of July.

There’s no exact number on how much loss downtown businesses experienced compared to last year but an estimated 340,000 people visited Music City over the past Fourth of July holiday.

This year, owners are just happy if they saw a profit.

It’s been a struggle since March for these bars in terms of revenue. The step back into the revised Phase Two closed bars and entertainment venues for at least a few weeks.

Health officials said this is necessary to bring down the recent spike in COVID-19 cases.

Health leaders have found a record number of clusters at bars that have infected customers, employees and musicians, which is why they have to shut their doors.

“We can quickly solve this problem of increasing cases and I hope very quickly we can start seeing the stabilization of our numbers in a downward trend and we can look about what should happen again but I think you should see by the speed and level of what we are doing, that everyone is taking this very seriously and people of Nashville need to take this spike in numbers very seriously,” explained Dr. Alex Jahangir with Metro’s coronavirus task force.

The downtown Nashville fireworks display for the Fourth of July, which is typically a major draw for crowds, was cancelled by Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation.

“Obviously, everybody is disappointed with having to roll back a little bit. We were just starting to see some momentum moving forward. but we would agree that the longterm recovery is more important. So if we are not in a healthy situation, we got to take some steps, but our industry is reeling and it’s not going to slow down for a while,” said Buch Spyridon, President and CEO of NCVC.

>>9873134

Some of us are just really tired of all this garbage.

>>9873094

Roger that.

Thanks Anon.

Wonder what he knew…

What you need to know about COVID-19: As cases soar, officials say some states reopened too quickly

("Muted" holiday weekend? KEK! What are they smoking?)

https://www.wpbf.com/article/coronavirus-july-6/33212952

After a muted holiday weekend which saw both measured celebrations and packed crowds the country faces a deep coronavirus crisis as cases continue to climb and more hospitals report they're nearing capacity.

This week marks about two months since many states kicked off their reopening plans – which now officials across the country say came too quickly.

In Florida, officials shut down multiple beaches throughout the state hoping to avoid July 4 crowds. The state reported 9,999 new coronavirus cases Sunday, bringing Florida's total to more than 200,000 infections.

"There's no doubt … that when we reopened, people started socializing as if the virus didn't exist," Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told ABC's "This Week."

In Texas, which reported its second highest day of new cases over the weekend, a local leader said the state opened "too early, too much," driving Houston hospitals to surge capacity in recent days.

"Wishful thinking is neither good economic policy, nor good public health policy," Texas Judge Lina Hidalgo said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday. "If we had stayed shut down for longer and opened more slowly, we would probably be in a more sustainable place in our economy."

The announcement came days after the governor shut bars back down.

"If I could go back and redo anything it probably would have been the opening of bars, now seeing in the aftermath how quickly the coronavirus spread in the bar setting," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told KVIA.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego told ABC's "This Week" that her state "opened way too early," attributing much of the "explosion" in cases to people between the ages of 20 and 44.

The latest numbers

The U.S. has reported more than 2.8 million cases of the virus and at least 129,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

There are 32 states reporting a rise in cases compared to the previous week, according to Johns Hopkins University data:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington state, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Cases are trekking steady in 14 states: Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wyoming.

New cases are trending downward in Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Remdesivir should be reserved for very sick patients, official says

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen M. Hahn said Sunday that the U.S. government intends to "surge remdesivir to the areas that most need it."

Remdesivir is an antiviral that is the only drug that has FDA emergency authorization for use in treating coronavirus infections.

Hahn said that the country's remdesivir supply has not run out and is being distributed by the Department of Health and Human Services.

"The vice president and I and others were in Florida and this issue came up and we are receiving that feedback and then shipping remdesivir so it's available for people who need it," Hahn said.

Last week, HHS announced that it had shipped the final allocation of the antiviral drug, prompting concerns there would not be enough to help states experiencing sharp rises in infections.

The country currently has enough remdesivir if the pandemic doesn't get any worse, former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said Sunday on CBS' "Face The Nation."

For the supply to last, the drug should be reserved for very sick or hospitalized COVID-19 patients, Gottlieb said.

"But if the epidemic worsens and we want to extend use of the drug to patients who aren't as ill but have preexisting conditions that predict that they may become very sick, we don't have enough drug for that and that's what we would have wanted," he said.

"We would have had to set the groundwork for that months ago, and we didn't do that."

Stop the spread of COVID-19

To help stop the spread of the coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend wearing a cloth face mask in public, which is a requirement in some states.

Experts also recommend you keep 6 feet between yourself and others.

Make sure to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

>>9873223

Thanks Anon.