Given a paragraph, generate a claim that is supported by the given paragraph. 1) The claim must contain information from within the paragraph. 2) A sentence within the paragraph can be used as a claim. 3) The claim should not have contradictions within the paragraph. 4) The claim should be at most one sentence long.
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Question: Cuomo’s cautiously upbeat report at a daily briefing came as the daily death toll across the state, the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States, dropped to 540 on April 17, down from 630 a day earlier and the lowest in more than two weeks. The governor said total hospitalizations of patients being treated for COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, came to 16,967, a drop of more than 1,300 over the past three days. Intubations and admissions to intensive care units also continued on their downward trend. “If you look at the past three days, you could argue that we are past the plateau and we’re starting to descend which would be very good news,” Cuomo said. He said, however, that about 2,000 infected people were newly admitted to hospitals on Friday, which he characterized as “still an overwhelming number,” and reiterated that he would take a cautious approach to reopening businesses and schools. Cuomo repeated a call for the federal government to help coordinate and provide funding for the mass testing that he and other governors have said is needed to determine when it is safe for people to go back to work. Providing new details on the challenge, Cuomo said a survey of labs in his state revealed an inability to procure the chemical reagents needed to run the tests on machines supplied by private manufacturers like Roche Holding AG. “They bought the machine, they have the machine, they have the test, but they need the reagents to do a higher volume of tests,” Cuomo said, adding that makers like Roche are struggling to get the reagents from China. “That’s the logjam we are in.”  New York disclosed 7,090 new positive cases over the last 24 hours for a total of 236,732 cases, while deaths increased by 540 to 13,362, marking by far the largest number of fatalities of any state. Even with stabilizing numbers, Cuomo said the pandemic was taking a severe emotional and economic toll on people, and estimated the impact on society would prove to be the biggest challenge facing the country since World War Two. “On every level this is a terrible experience, Cuomo said. “It is as tumultuous a time as we have ever seen.”

Answer: New York Governor sounds optimistic note as coronavirus numbers improve.


Question: The disease being called “pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome” was identified and treated at Seattle Children’s Hospital, KUOW reported. King County Public Health said the patient was a resident of Snohomish County and there have been no other confirmed cases in the area. It involves a “hyper response” of the child’s immune system to the virus, according to Dr. Michael Portman, who directs pediatric cardiovascular research at Children’s. It can lead to inflammation of the blood vessels, and affect the heart’s arteries, leading to coronary aneurysms. In similar diseases, that can lead to lifelong heart issues, Portman said. The syndrome is rare and most children infected with the virus develop only mild illness. The disease is being linked to COVID-19, Portman said, because almost all of the patients have had confirmed cases of the virus, positive antibody tests, or known exposure. Portman said it is very similar and at times appears almost identical to a disease called “Kawasaki disease,” which was identified in Japan in the 1960s. According to Portman, Kawasaki disease is fairly common at Seattle Children’s. Around 30% patients at Children’s with Kawasaki disease are of Asian descent, Portman said. But the disease “seems to affect Hispanic and black children more severely” due to a “more robust inflammatory response.” Most of the cases of the new syndrome have been in the New York area and a handful have been fatal. Portman’s advice to parents is “not to freak out,” but if a child has a persistent fever, which is a symptom, he recommends getting it checked.

Answer: Seattle sees 1st case of childhood disease tied to virus.


Question: Boutique fitness studios are keeping track of clients’ progress with methods ranging from videotaping their workouts to measuring their fat, to posting a friendly nudge on their Facebook pages. Gregory Chertok, a sports psychology consultant with the American College of Sports Medicine, said research has shown that even small amounts of social support can produce large and lasting gains in physical activity. In a 2007 study by Stanford University in California, researchers showed that even a simple, computer-generated phone call could be effective in motivating the sedentary to exercise. “These exercisers are being held accountable by their fitness studios to a degree,” he said. AKT InMotion, a New York/Connecticut chain of dance and circuit-based interval training studios, offers a $2,000, personalized, eight-week exercise and nutrition program. It includes periodic body measurements and is supervised by a fitness concierge. Anna Kaiser, founder of AKT, said photographs and measurements are taken every two weeks to track progress. “A client will say ‘I still feel fat’ because you don’t actually see that you’re changing, so it helps,” said Kaiser, who added that measurements were private and optional. Accountability, she explained, is a two-way street. Clients must show up as well as work on nutrition, and if aspects of the program are not producing results, AKT will change it. Videotaping is popular for tracking progress. At Refine Method studio in New York City, which features full-body circuit training and small classes, it is used to give clients a  concrete measure to gauge progress. Clients do a few key assessment moves, such as a squat, and the videotape will show how they have improved over time. Founder Brynn Putnam, a former New York City Ballet dancer, said unlike professional athletes, who can count their wins, most people don’t get clear indications of progress. Regularity is also an important factor for improvement. Barry’s Bootcamp, a national chain of interval cardiovascular treadmill and strength-training studios, clients can sign up for a program called ‘Academy,’ in which they commit to the same classes at the same-time Monday to Friday for four weeks. Trainer Joey Gonzalez said he has used Facebook to reach out to no-shows. “Social media gives us a short cut for clients who have signed up for accountability-based programs,” he said.

Answer:
Fitness studios keep clients on track with photos, social media.


