Inspectors in protective suits went door-to-door Wednesday in the epicenter of China’s viral outbreak to try to find every infected person in an epidemic that is showing signs of waning as new cases fell for a second straight day.
The city of Wuhan, where the new form of coronavirus emerged, was in the final day of a campaign to root out anyone with symptoms whom authorities may have missed so far.
While the overall spread of the virus has been slowing, the situation remains severe in Hubei province, whose capital is Wuhan. Infections in Hubei constitute more than 80% of the country’s 74,185 total cases and 95% of its 2,004 deaths, according to data from China’s National Health Commission.
Cities in Hubei with a combined population of more than 60 million have been under lockdown since the Lunar New Year holiday last month.
The Star Tribune reports Glen Davis — who died Feb. 15 at age 88 — will be celebrated at a funeral service in Grand Meadow, Minn., the small town where he drove a school bus for 55 years and where he was known to generations of children as their beloved “Glennie.”
He’ll be laid to rest in a yellow casket decorated with headlights, a side-mounted stop sign and big letters spelling out “Grand Meadow Schools — ISD #495.”
The casket is the gift of Jim Hindt, owner of Hindt Funeral Home.
Hindt enlisted a family friend to paint the casket and an artistic niece to put the details on it, then surprised Davis with the creation about six years ago.
A funeral mass will be held Friday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Finbarr’s Catholic Church in Grand Meadow.
Officials are monitoring the air quality in Becker where a fire at a metal recycling plant has been burning for more than 24 hours.
Firefighters continued to fight the stubborn blaze Wednesday after working all day and through the night Tuesday at Northern Metal Recycling plant.
Firefighter Toni Knutson says the fire is burning under a huge pile of cars. She says cranes are being used to remove the vehicles from the pile one-by-one as firefighters spray water on the fire.
The Star Tribune reports police have told residents with respiratory problems who live near the plant to stay inside or in well-ventilated areas.
Emily Haugen can be reached at haug7231@stthomas.edu.