***--06-15-20:
www.huffpost.com/entry/cuomo-reverse-reopening-new-york_n_5ee6de41c5b64e087259e267?ncid=newsltushpmgnews Cuomo Warns He May Reverse Re-Openings After New York Gets 25,000 Complaints“We have never received more complaints in a shorter period of time,” the governor said as some states see surges in coronavirus infections. READ MORE…
***06-15-20 MUTATION:
www.msn.com/en-us/health/health-news/mutation-in-new-coronavirus-increases-chance-of-infection-study/ar-BB15uDS3?li=BBnbfcL June 15 (Reuters) -
A specific mutation in the new coronavirus can significantly increase its ability to infect cells, according to a study by U.S. researchers.The research may explain why early outbreaks in some parts of the world did not end up overwhelming health systems as much as other outbreaks in New York and Italy, according to experts at Scripps Research.
The mutation, named D614G, increased the number of "spikes" on the coronavirus - which is the part that gives it its distinctive shape. Those spikes are what allow the virus to bind to and infect cells.
"The number—or density—of functional spikes on the virus is 4 or 5 times greater due to this mutation," said Hyeryun Choe, one of the senior authors of the study.
The researchers say that it is still unknown whether this small mutation affects the severity of symptoms of infected people, or increases mortality. READ MORE…
***--06-15-20 A MUST READ:
www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/why-a-second-covid-19-shutdown-might-be-worse-than-the-first-and-how-to-prevent-it/ar-BB15u2sb?li=BBnb7Kz Why a second Covid-19 shutdown might be worse than the first -- and how to prevent itIt's an outcome no one wants, but could become a "harsh reality": a second wave of shutdowns.
Weeks after lifting stay-at-home orders, some states are seeing record numbers of hospitalizations from Covid-19 as thousands more Americans get infected every day.
"We're going to have to face the harsh reality in some states that we may need to shut down again," said Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor at George Washington University School of Medicine.
And the second wave of state shutdowns could be more damaging than the first.
"Because of quarantine fatigue, because of the economic effects of quarantine, another round of shutdowns might have even larger effects on businesses that may be on the edge of not being able to stay solvent," said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
The economic toll from one round of shutdowns has been staggering. More than 44 million people in the United States have have filed for initial unemployment benefits since mid-March.
But the pandemic is far from over. More than 115,000 Americans have died from coronavirus, and hundreds more are dying from the virus every day.
"Covid's not taking a summer vacation," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert and professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
"It's actually having new opportunities to spread."
Murray said the "biggest and most difficult choice" states could face in the coming months is managing a potential second shutdown.
And the consequences of another shutdown would be wide-ranging, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.
"We can't shut down the economy again," Mnuchin told CNBC. "I think we've learned that if you shut down the economy, you're going to create more damage. And not just economic damage, but ... medical problems and everything else that get put on hold."
But the federal government hasn't been in control of shutdowns and reopenings. Those have been at the discretion of each state.
"If you run out of hospital beds, and you run out of ICU beds ... (states would) have to shut down," said Reiner.
It's happened before
Second shutdowns aren't just possible -- they've already happened in some parts of the world during this pandemic.
Hong Kong and Singapore seemed to have coronavirus under control and started easing restrictions -- only to have major resurgences that led to stricter rules.
Japan's second-largest island, Hokkaido, also shut down to control the spread of coronavirus. "But they opened too quickly," Reiner said, leading to a Covid-19 comeback.
"They shut down again. And that's how they extinguished the virus."
How Americans can prevent another round of shutdowns
While states try to revive the economy, the fate of this pandemic is largely up to individuals.
"People must observe the safety guidelines," top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said.
"Social distancing must be observed. Face coverings in key places must be observed."
Wearing a face mask is critical to slowing the spread of coronavirus because of how easy it is to infect others -- even without any symptoms.
"We've got to take action now so that we avoid a shutdown in the future," said Lina Hidalgo, the head of government in Harris County, Texas -- the third most populous county in the United States.Like many parts of the country, Harris County has seen surges in Covid-19 hospitalizations since Memorial Day weekend.
"That only continues to grow," Hidalgo said Friday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said "the best thing to do is to avoid crowded areas."
"But if you're not going to do that," he said, "please wear a mask." READ MORE…
--06-15-20:
www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/beijing-carries-out-mass-testing-as-coronavirus-spreads-in-the-chinese-capital/ar-BB15uM4h?li=BBnb7Kz Beijing has set about testing hundreds of thousands of people for the coronavirus in an exhaustive effort to stamp out a new eruption of the disease in the Chinese capital.After dozens of cases were reported over the weekend, continuing into Monday, Chinese authorities mobilized almost 100,000 community workers to test everyone who has worked in or visited the Xinfadi market in the southwest of Beijing.
Xinfadi is the largest fruit, vegetable and meat market in the capital, which is home to about 21 million people, and supplies 70 percent of the city’s fresh vegetables and 80 percent of its fruit.
But after discovering more than 90 new infections linked to the market over the weekend, and 36 more being reported Monday, Beijing’s health authorities are taking military-style action to try to ensure that the virus doesn’t spread further.
“These clustered cases are highly correlated with the Xinfadi agricultural wholesale market, which has a highly mobile crowd and poses great outbreak risks,” Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said at a State Council briefing, according to state media reports Monday.
“We have to take firm action and resolute measures to effectively stop the epidemic from spreading,” she said. READ MORE…
--06-15-20:
www.nytimes.com/2020/06/14/health/coronavirus-vaccines-measles.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20200615&instance_id=19396&nl=the-morning®i_id=98362458&segment_id=30929&te=1&user_id=f1054b3b9b989deafd744903c62d564c …This spring, after the World Health Organization and UNICEF warned that the pandemic could spread swiftly when children gathered for shots, many countries suspended their inoculation programs.
Even in countries that tried to keep them going, cargo flights with vaccine supplies were halted by the pandemic and health workers diverted to fight it.
Now, diphtheria is appearing in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
Cholera is in South Sudan, Cameroon, Mozambique, Yemen and Bangladesh.
A mutated strain of poliovirus has been reported in more than 30 countries.
And measles is flaring around the globe, including in Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Nigeria and Uzbekistan.
Of 29 countries that have currently suspended measles campaigns because of the pandemic, 18 are reporting outbreaks.
An additional 13 countries are considering postponement. According to the Measles and Rubella Initiative, 178 million people are at risk of missing measles shots in 2020.The risk now is “an epidemic in a few months’ time that will kill more children than Covid,” said Chibuzo Okonta, the president of Doctors Without Borders in West and Central Africa. READ NOW…
--06-15-20:
www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/airline-passengers-brought-covid-19-into-lax-in-march-%e2%80%94-and-no-one-warned-the-public/ar-BB15sO55?li=BBnb7Kz Airline passengers brought COVID-19 into LAX in March — and no one warned the public.When American Airlines flight 341 to Los Angeles lifted off the tarmac at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport on a cloudy Thursday in mid-March, much of the country was already on coronavirus lockdown.
The flight was far from full, but the 49 passengers and eight crew shared restrooms, cabin air and a narrow aisle for the six-hour trip.
Though no one knew it then, a man in first class, a retired Manhattan surgeon, was infected with the virus. The day after the flight, he was rushed by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with a high fever and phlegmy cough.
The virus spread quickly among those he had come in contact with in the hours after leaving LAX, including at a Westside assisted living facility where a 32-year-old nurse and a dozen others later died.
L.A. was still in an early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic when the surgeon’s flight touched down, with fewer than 250 confirmed cases. Local health officials regularly assured the public then that the county was investigating each case and engaging in aggressive contact tracing to control the spread of the virus.
Despite these pledges, no one in public health informed any of the passengers and crew who had flown cross country with the surgeon that they were at risk. The airline only recently learned of the case from The Times. READ MORE…
--06-13-20:
www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/for-the-fourth-time-this-week-dallas-county-reports-record-high-in-daily-cases/ar-BB15rkAd?ocid=hplocalnews For the fourth time this week, Dallas County has reached a new record with the number of residents who tested positive for COVID-19.Saturday afternoon, county health officials reported 345 new cases and 3 more deaths. The victims who died include a man in his 50s, a man in his 60s, and a woman in her 90s.
“Today marks another record for the number of positive COVID19 cases, but remember, we are doing more testing and that will weigh into the increase in numbers. Of greater concern is the number of hospitalizations," Judge Clay Jenkins said.
Texas set another record for COVID-19 hospitalizations Saturday with 2,242 patients, according to data released.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reports the Dallas-Fort Worth area currently has 729 patients hospitalized due to the novel coronavirus.
On Monday, the number of hospitalized patients in the state was at 1,935. READ MORE…
although both might work.
