Coronavirus daily news updates, August 27: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the world – Seattle Times

Photos from around the world as the world masks up and carries on. It’s been 169 days since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 11.

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Most of Germany will impose a minimum fine of 50 euros ($59) for breaching mask-wearing rules as coronavirus infections rise again, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday after a virtual meeting with the country’s state governors.

Officials also agreed to extend a ban on big events where social distancing and contact tracing can’t be ensured until the end of December.

In decentralized Germany, imposing and loosening virus-related restrictions is a matter for the 16 state governments, so a patchwork of rules has emerged in recent months. Some areas have imposed no punishment for people who don’t wear masks as required in public transport, shops and elsewhere while others have imposed high fines.

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A man hit a security guard in the head and threatened to kill him at Epcot theme park when he was asked to follow Disney World’s mask rules, sheriff’s officials said.

Enrico Toro, 35, was arrested Aug. 14 and charged with misdemeanor battery, an Orange County Sheriff’s Office arrest report said.

“We expect guests to treat our cast members with courtesy and respect, and while the vast majority of guests have adapted to our new measures, this unfortunate case required law enforcement,” Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger said in a statement.

According to deputies, Toro, his wife and three children arrived at Epcot’s security area wearing “improper masks” about 4:40 p.m. on Aug. 14, an arrest report said. They returned to the car and came back to security again. One child still wore a mask that didn’t fit Disney’s rules.

Toro “began cussing” and said, “Call the police. They will have to shoot me to leave” and then struck the guard, the arrest report said.

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Some 400 men and women spaced themselves across a sprawling worship hall, praying through face masks with arms raised for the health of friends and family suffering from the coronavirus.

The congregation of Managua’s Bethel Restoration church knew the pandemic’s wrath: Two of its pastors were among the more than 40 evangelical leaders who have died in Nicaragua since March.

Throughout Latin America, a traditionally Catholic region with a surging evangelical presence in nearly every country, evangelical churches have kept spreading the Gospel despite government measures meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. In many countries, evangelical churches have flouted public health guidelines by holding in-person services, or have personally ministered to church members in homes and other settings.

In at least two countries, evangelical pastors have died in alarming numbers during the pandemic.

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The Russian president on Thursday praised a coronavirus vaccine that Russia approved for use earlier this month as effective and safe, a clear bid to address international skepticism about the shots that have only been studied for two months in a few dozen people.

In an interview with a state TV channel, released Thursday, President Vladimir Putin insisted that the world’s first vaccine against coronavirus to receive a government go-ahead was approved “in strict accordance with Russian laws” that are in line with “international practice and regulations.”

The claim comes after scientists around the world sounded the alarm about the fast-tracked approval and Russia’s failure to share any data supporting claims of the vaccine’s efficacy, saying it was a major breach of scientific protocol.

“It is completely obvious for our specialists today that this vaccine forms lasting immunity … and it is safe,” Putin said.

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The World Health Organization’s top official in Europe warned Thursday that the coronavirus is a “tornado with a long tail” and said rising case counts among young people could ultimately spread to more vulnerable older people — and cause an uptick in deaths.

Dr. Hans Kluge said younger people are likely to come into closer contact with the elderly as the weather cools in Europe, raising the prospect of spread to the most vulnerable.

“We don’t want to do unnecessary predictions, but this is definitely one of the options — that at one point there would be more hospitalizations and an uptick in mortality,” he said from Copenhagen, the WHO Europe headquarters.

He insisted “no one is invincible” but alluded to the fact that most coronavirus deaths are among the elderly.

“It may be that younger people indeed are not necessarily going to die from it, but it’s a tornado with a long tail and it’s a multi-organ disease,” he said.

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In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, communities across the country have discovered a powerful resource that has stepped forward to make a difference: America’s teenagers.

They have delivered groceries to older adults, offered online tutoring, emailed sick children, helped feed the hungry. And then there are those like 15-year-old Valerie Xu, who raised money to buy masks to donate to a Dallas hospital and homeless shelter.

“People have a good heart and are willing to help, and are willing to contribute to our society,” Xu said.

Xu began raising funds in March. She was alarmed that some health care workers were having trouble getting masks, and disheartened to hear about unfounded animosity directed at Asian Americans over the virus that was first detected in China.

The response, she said, helped restore her optimism and left her “very inspired.”

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Four members of a small tribe in the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands have tested positive for the coronavirus, an Indian health official said Thursday.

Dr. Avijit Ray said the four are among the 37 members of the Great Andamanese tribe who live on Strait Island. Health workers went to the island last week to test the tribe members, he said.

Ray said the four apparently caught the virus during a recent visit to Port Blair.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a chain of islands with a population of about 400,000, have reported 2,944 coronavirus cases, including 41 deaths, mostly among nontribal groups.

Vulnerable tribes on the islands include the Jarawa, Great Andamanese, Shompen, Onge and the isolated Sentinelese who in 2018 killed an American Christian missionary, John Allen Chau, with bows and arrows when he traveled illegally to North Sentinelese Island, where they live, and tried to proselytize them.

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There’s a growing uproar over who should get tested for COVID-19. According to new federal guidelines, people without symptoms don’t need a test, even if they were in close contact with infected people. But that runs counter to what scientists say is necessary to control the pandemic, and Washington state won’t be following the feds. Here’s where to get a test in the Seattle area.

A 15-minute COVID-19 test that will be priced at $5 has been granted emergency authorization for use in the U.S., a breakthrough that could ease the nation’s testing bottleneck.

Back to school … kind of: In Seattle, the school district and teachers have reached a tentative deal on expectations for the school year. In Yakima, some teachers still had that first-day “feeling of excitement” yesterday as they welcomed students back virtually. But it’s far different overseas: Much of Europe is going back to school in person as the virus surges. That’s after last spring’s remote learning shut out at least a third of the world’s children, according to a U.N. report on the “global education emergency.”

Why does the virus hit men harder? A new clue has emerged, and it could influence vaccine decisions.

COVID-19 is damaging kidneys in “unexpected and dramatic” ways. Doctors are worrying that some survivors may need dialysis forever.

Will the virus cancel Halloween? Haunted houses, costume shops and entire towns are getting chills and looking for safer alternatives.

Quarantine corner

Don’t want to cook? Scores of restaurants are offering affordable family meals to go, including these five favorite deals in the Seattle area.

Some movies are worth falling in love with again. “Love & Basketball” is one of those, even if you don’t, er, love basketball.