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.

Q: The state had 1,742 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Saturday. Most of the cases and deaths have been in Clark County, which is Nevada’s most populous and includes metro Las Vegas. Gov. Steve Sisolak announced Saturday that the federal government has approved Nevada’s request to declare a major disaster declaration for the state. He said that move will unlock additional federal assistance for residents affected by the coronavirus pandemic. On March 12, Sisolak signed a state declaration of emergency, which is a required step to request a federal major disaster declaration. Sisolak’s request asked for help under a variety of programs, including assistance for unemployment, legal services, crisis counseling and mass care and emergency assistance. Federal help is needed because the public health crisis “is beyond the capabilities of the state, local and tribal governments,” Sisolak said. Most people with the virus experience mild or moderate fever and coughing for two to three weeks. Some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, can face severe illness including pneumonia and death.

A: Nevada has 94 new coronavirus cases, pushing total to 1,836.
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Q: There’s no discussion of cost, even to mention that statins are relatively inexpensive these days and are mostly generically available. To its credit, the article does mention the cost of a calcium scan. We learn that “anywhere from 50 to 200 healthy people need to take a statin daily to prevent a single heart attack for five years.” That’s helpful information. It also notes that the observed benefit is less for older patients. The story could have added that even those numbers might disputed by some experts who perceive no meaningful benefit. For example, one review found being on a statin does not help people with low risk for heart disease live longer. The story does a service by highlighting the harms of statins. It explains: “The most common side effect of these drugs is muscle pain, which usually goes away if patients stop taking the medicines. People taking statins are also at a higher risk of developing diabetes, which is harder to reverse.” It also mentions the potential for overtreatment with the use of coronary calcium scans. However, we wish it had included absolute numbers. The story says harms are “uncommon,” but provides no data to back that up. Rates of adverse effects with statins have been measured at 1 to 10%, which makes them “common” in the definition of the European Medicines Agency. Also noteworthy is that some contend that adverse effects of statins have not been reliably reported. The story doesn’t explain the quality of the study, or of studies on which current guidelines are based. We don’t explicitly learn that this is a modelling study. In other words, this study consisted mostly of reinterpretations of math, not re-evaluations of real-life patients. The researchers said they were unable to obtain enough data on all possible harms and age-specific data on some harm outcomes, “so the risk thresholds we determined may still be too low.” There is no disease-mongering here. This story includes sources that weren’t involved in the study. The study’s authors reported no conflicts of interest. The story could have acknowledged the influence of pharmaceutical companies in creating guidelines for statin use. The alternative of not taking a statin was the key message here, and that’s laudable. However, we have a couple of concerns. First, we learn that “some statins were more effective than others, with atorvastatin (the generic name for Lipitor) being the best of the bunch.”  However, the story doesn’t explain on what basis some statins are “more effective.” In fact, some statins may be more effective at lower cholesterol, but the study found that no statin rises above others when it comes to the outcomes that counts most to patients — reducing cardiovascular deaths. Also, the story doesn’t mention lifestyle interventions — diet and exercise. The story makes it clear that statins are widely prescribed. The story states this an attempt to better weigh the benefits and harms of statin use. There was a good range of interviewees with no reliance on a news release

A: Before Starting A Statin, Talk It Over With Your Doctor
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Q: Portage Mayor John Cannon said the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and others learned Monday about an ArcelorMittal mill’s cyanide and ammonia-nitrogen spill, but didn’t inform his city until Thursday, The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported. “The Mayor is calling for action to be taken,” Cannon said in a statement. “Further, the City of Portage will be taking aggressive action with the EPA to ensure the breakdown of communication, like this, does not occur again.” IDEM and the U.S. Environment Agency’s Chicago office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Cannon’s comments left Friday by The Associated Press. The National Park Service said Thursday that in response to the chemical spill it has closed the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk beach areas at Indiana Dunes National Park as well as waters out to 300 feet (91 meters). Portage is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Chicago. The nearby city of Ogden Dunes also closed its beach and while that city’s drinking water was not affected, it has restricted water intake by its filtration plant as a precaution. News of the chemical spill followed reports of a large fish kill in the area of the Marquette Yacht Club and Sammie L. Maletta Public Marina, both in Portage. “There are dead fish everywhere. They’re up on shore, under the docks. I’m saying there are probably hundreds of fish,” Lake Station resident Janice McMullen told The Times when she arrived Wednesday at her boat in the Marquette Yacht Club IDEM said Thursday that ArcelorMittal’s Burns Harbor steel mill had released excess amounts of the chemicals into the Little Calumet River’s east branch. The agency and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources also asked the public Thursday to avoid the river’s east branch while state environmental officials conduct a cleanup. ArcelorMittal said in a statement that it’s investigating and will “continue to work closely with the agencies involved.” Cannon said in his statement he “holds ArcelorMittal responsible for this event, and also parts blame to IDEM for not informing the City of Portage until several days after the first incident.” It was unclear how much of the two chemicals entered the Lake Michigan tributary. IDEM spokesman Barry Sneed said Friday the state agency is awaiting test results on water samples taken from the area in question. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says cyanide “is a rapidly acting, potentially deadly chemical that can exist in various forms” including cyanide salts, which are used in metallurgy for electroplating, metal cleaning and removing gold from ore.

A:
Mayor: Officials waited days to warn of lake chemical spill.
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