Important, if depressing, summary:
Two months into the U.S. fight against the most severe pandemic to arise in the age of globalization, neither the health nor the economic war has been won. What did eight weeks and $3 trillion buy the U.S. in the fight against coronavirus? https://t.co/mUa008xQxT by @hpschneider pic.twitter.com/kYUyWFiR9b
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 18, 2020
Daily #COVID19 reports from @WHO are getting increasingly granular and detailed. This atlas depicts new #coronavirus cases — note the enormous difference between the USA & China.https://t.co/uOic2DcxBK pic.twitter.com/8UtCGCAiLf
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) May 17, 2020
U.S. CDC reports 1,467,065 coronavirus cases, 88,709 deaths https://t.co/jfDVoXzyEy pic.twitter.com/oL3s0n6319
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 18, 2020
In a carefully worded draft which does not single out China, the countries back Australia's calls for an “impartial, independent“ probe into the response to COVID-19 and its origin including how it spread from animals to humans. https://t.co/0Kz34U9pht
— The New Daily (@TheNewDailyAu) May 17, 2020
How are countries recovering?
1) Well: Germany, S Korea…Iran facing big second wave.
2) Slow: Italy, Spain and much slower France
3) Yet to show overall recovery: US, UK, Russia, Brazil and Russia…because their ACTIVE cases are still growing. pic.twitter.com/O6o0EGo0Ko— Prof Shamika Ravi (@ShamikaRavi) May 18, 2020
Restaurants, churches will reopen in Italy as part of a fresh wave of lockdown easing in Europe, but rising #coronavirus death tolls in Brazil, South Africa and other parts of the world show the worst is still to come in many countries https://t.co/pyawuoqzqD pic.twitter.com/YpXOnajYCZ
— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 18, 2020
India extends coronavirus lockdown by two weeks https://t.co/p28tZjyuTH
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 17, 2020
Japan is in a technical recession, and vulnerable to repercussions from the coronavirus pandemic given its dependence on trade with China — where the pandemic began — and the U.S., which has been hit hardest. https://t.co/byiden2pKy
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 18, 2020
#BREAKING Russia confirmed 8,926 new coronavirus infections Monday, bringing the country’s official number of cases to 290,678https://t.co/ZvFCqH8T4X
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) May 18, 2020
The Minister of Healthcare of Dagestan, Russia, said there are 700 deaths (including 40 health workers) attributed to "non-hospitalization pneumonia." The official COVID death count in Dagestan is 27.
"Non-hospitalization pneumonia" is how Russia fudges COVID numbers.— Slava Malamud (@SlavaMalamud) May 17, 2020
Coronavirus: European countries set to further ease lockdowns https://t.co/5RnKugk8IM
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 17, 2020
Stark warnings from two European leaders: The world has to adapt to living with this coronavirus because a vaccine won't be coming soon enough to save us. https://t.co/LaWM9lRjhg
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) May 17, 2020
The UK government pledged over $100 million in additional funding for British researchers working on potential coronavirus vaccines https://t.co/ahXLjgHgww pic.twitter.com/Rd9BjCVQiC
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 18, 2020
Spain records 87 deaths in the past 24 hours – the first drop under 100 since the lockdown began
Latest: https://t.co/FzrCyDS8dn pic.twitter.com/5o48BjwQQf
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 17, 2020
A Barcelona funeral home has closed a temporary morgue it had set up inside its parking garage to handle the overflow of victims of the Spanish city’s coronavirus outbreak. More than 3,200 victims of COVID-19 passed through the temporary morgue in 53 days. https://t.co/lw1lB80wI9
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) May 17, 2020
Ireland begins first phase of easing lockdown rules, with some construction firms returning to work and garden centres and hardware stores reopening https://t.co/uw28M6Hk6G
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 18, 2020
France coronavirus death toll rises to 28,108: ministry https://t.co/sBkDMyQo31 pic.twitter.com/tLKwFxJF2d
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 18, 2020
The gravediggers of Kano, Nigeria, one of the biggest cities in West Africa, say they are working overtime. And so many doctors and nurses have been infected with the coronavirus that few hospitals are now accepting patients. https://t.co/g0ABAB8Hh6
— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) May 17, 2020
South Africa's strict lockdown measures include a ban on cigarettes and alcohol. We take a look at the impact of the banhttps://t.co/A4MIxanVbL pic.twitter.com/A0HglNh0sq
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 17, 2020
The daily death toll in Brazil rose by 816 to 15,633 – the world's fifth highesthttps://t.co/oGHY5mvKmc
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 17, 2020
Mexico prepares to resume economic activity as coronavirus cases continue to rise https://t.co/mi1qYQNFqI pic.twitter.com/NUA7x0E5tV
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 18, 2020
Coronavirus: Heath workers face violent attacks in Mexico https://t.co/xCKHAc3157
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 17, 2020
Honduras extends blanket curfew again to halt spread of coronavirus https://t.co/PbTZpp2Q09 pic.twitter.com/hqlwNMVFyH
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 18, 2020
Before the lockdown was introduced, teams from other nations would visit Bharati base
Since measures were put in place, the team hasn’t seen anyone from elsewhere in Antarcticahttps://t.co/DnNTELWLgS pic.twitter.com/z3LY6ZqIS3
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 17, 2020
In this thread @EricTopol ends up explaining why all three types of #COVID19 tests are flawed. And what are some other ways to screen ppl for infection. For all the "Test! Test! Test!" rhetoric, it would be nice to have ample supplies of reliable tests. https://t.co/srzyIOJO1K
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) May 17, 2020
Masks stop symptomatic & asymptomatic #SARSCoV2 spread in new tests. Infected hamsters in a cage adjoining one of uninfected hamsters: Result? Infection. Then, infected animals' cage blocked w/ surgical masks & put next to uninfected animals. No infection. https://t.co/l4rwf3IHs8 pic.twitter.com/I829LEQRnX
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) May 17, 2020
Vaccine research: Thousands of people want to be exposed to Covid-19 for science – CNN https://t.co/FOMp2jljbb
— Marc Lipsitch (@mlipsitch) May 15, 2020
Coronavirus: Why Africans should take part in vaccine trials https://t.co/bzSlZwJwgo
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 17, 2020
Takeaway sale of alcohol at Robertson Quay stopped after photos of gatherings draw flak amid Covid-19 outbreak https://t.co/pe0TihOtTk
— The Straits Times (@STcom) May 17, 2020
WATCH: Hundreds of Germans got their party fix with the country's first drive-in rave pic.twitter.com/NcpGjYeq9h
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 17, 2020
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s daily numbers: 47 new cases, 26 from local infection and 21 imported infection; total 6,941 cases. 44 more patients recovered, total 5,615 or 80.9% of total cases. Of 1,213 active cases, 13 are in ICU of whom 6 are on ventilators. No new deaths, total deaths still at 113. Infection fatality rate 1.63%, case fatality rate 1.97%.
Amir Khalid
At his daily media briefing, DG of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the R0 number in Malaysia is holding steady at around 0.3, and new cases are still in two digits after the conditional easing of the movement control order. The concern now is to monitor these two statistics and observe public compliance during the Eid festival season which is coming at the end of this week.
Sloane Ranger
In regard to Prof. Ravi’s graphs, they are misleading as far as the UK is concerned as our government doesn’t publish recovery figures. Why? I haven’t been able to find out and I wish I could. In point of fact, the PM, several other Ministers and the Prince of Wales have all recovered and presumably there are many more in the same happy position. So it doesn’t make sense to me.
On a different note, a man is coming to do the annual service of my burglar alarm tomorrow. I am really worried about it but if he doesn’t come I lose my guarantee.
I have been in touch with the company and they say he will be masked, we must keep 6 feet between us at all time and I must provide facilities for him to wash his hands on both entering and leaving the house. I plan to let him use the bathroom and provide him with a towel he can put into a plastic bag after use. After he’s gone I will decant the towel into the washing machine w/o touching it and disinfectant everything he touched or might have touched. Any other ideas people?
OzarkHillbilly
The 2 worst counties to be in in Misery right now are not among those surrounding STL or KC (where most cases are), but are in oustate MO: Buchanan Co. (570.16 cases per 100K) and Saline Co (1074.47 cases per 100K). You get 3 guesses as to what major industry calls them home and the first 2 guesses don’t count.
WereBear
NY did a Phase 1 opening on Friday, where construction and manufacturing workers could return. Governor Cuomo got COVID_tested during his briefing yesterday. The ASL translator was hilarious as he translated the verbal exchanges.
Makes me want to learn it. I got some exposure in high school through a friend, and learned the alphabet at one time.
YY_Sima Qian
@Sloane Ranger: Prepare a pair of surgical gloves for him, if you have them. Make sure both you and him cover your hairs. Have him use paper towels to dry his hand. Open all of your windows to keep the place well aerated. Disinfect every surface he touched after he leaves. Prepare a pair of booties for him to cover his shoes. Wear glasses, if you have them.
Sloane Ranger
@YY_Sima Qian: Thanks. I don’t have all the equipment you mention but I can certainly open the windows and do the disinfecting. And I wear glasses as standard so that’s not a problem!
YY_Sima Qian
@Sloane Ranger: Remember to disinfect your glasses! You can use plastic bags or wraps in place of booties. Or ask him to take off his shoes, if possible.
Ohio Mom
I was also going to say “open the windows.” Make your house as much like the outdoors as possible.
Needless to say, this hack isn’t going to be useful in six months.
Geo Wilcox
This from an article on the ProMed site:
“The last part of the sentence is asserting/affirmative that the virus originated in bats in China. This is a common mistake done in the media. The origin of the virus is yet unclear, and although the closest relatives of SARS-CoV-2 have indeed been found in Asian _Rhinolophus_ species, the divergence between the SARS-CoV-2 and its closely related virus in bats is estimated to have occurred decades ago (Refs 1, 2). The host of the most recent common ancestor of SARS-CoV-2 and the closely related bat viruses is yet unknown, although, of course, it can be hypothesized it was a bat (e.g., a _Rhinolophus_ species), but this remains a hypothesis, not an established fact. So we are still missing decades of evolution of SARS-CoV-2. There are many unknowns/uncertainties in this emergence, and it would be very important to make these clear and not jump to conclusions too quickly.”
This virus has been “trying” to get into humans for a long time. Since we are the most efficient vehicle for viral transmissions, I’d say Mission Accomplished, SARS-CoV-2.
terben
From the Australian Dept of Health:
As at 3:00pm on 18 May 2020, a total of 7,060 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Australia, including 99 deaths and 6,389 have been reported as recovered from COVID-19.
Over the past week, there has been an average of 16 new cases reported each day. Of the newly reported cases, the majority have been from Victoria.
To date, over 1,062,000 tests have been conducted nationally. Of those tests conducted 0.7% have been positive.’
There have been 15 new cases since yesterday and one death. There are 46 people in hospital and of those, 12 in ICU.
YY_Sima Qian
3 new domestic confirmed cases in China yesterday. 2 are from Jilin city in Jilin Province. One case is reported by Changyi District, which previous had not reported infections; the case is a close contact of an existing case from Chuanying District, and was proactively traces and tested. The second is reported by Shulan, also a close contact of an existing case, and proactively traces and tested.
The third case is reported by Shanghai, an export from the city of Qianjiang in Hubei Province. The person just arrived at Shanghai two days ago in search of work, and was tested per standard procedure (should have been tested before the case left Hubei, as well). Since Qianjiang has not reported any confirmed or asymptomatic cases for quite some time, it is always concerning if the first sign of infection is an export to elsewhere. This is a confirmed case, so not one of those true asymptomatics with apparently very limited infectivity, or self-healed but still shedding viral fragments.
In Wuhan, it appears the samples collected in the 100% mass screening will be pooled 5 or 10 samples to a batch, and tested by batch. If any batch produces a positive result, then the persons whose samples are pooled will be contacted for follow up testing. Originally we were supposed to be able to check our results on an APP, but that is now no longer the case. We also cannot use this test result for traveling outside of the city. New PCR test is will required for that purpose. Pooling samples is likely the reason for the latest guidance.
Sloane Ranger
@YY_Sima Qian: Thanks again and to Ohio Mum as well.
I will ask him to take off his shoes. A lot of workmen around here do this as standard anyway, even before the Apocalypse.
I’ll let you know how it goes. On a different note, I’ve just cut my own hair!
I consulted with my cousin who’s a trained hairdresser (retired). She wasn’t particularly encouraging but she said if I MUST do it, take a little off at a time and cut the bare minimum overall. I may be biased but I think I did OK. I’ll leave it to my hairdresser to criticise my skills when better times return.
YY_Sima Qian
@Sloane Ranger: My wife cut my hair during the lock down, the first time ever she cut anyone’s hair. The result was… not completely disastrous.
ziggy
I was very disappointed to see that they did not make tiny little masks for the hamsters. I’m sure someone on BJ could have whipped those up. Regardless, an interesting study.
Amir Khalid
@YY_Sima Qian:
I have been cutting my own hair for years: a crude buzzcut every so often, with the trimmer on the 3mm spacing. The results have also been not completely disastrous, even though I usually miss a few random tufts of hair.
Bill Arnold
@ziggy:
Me too, but if they had, the anti-maskers would still say that it’s only an animal model and “therefore” not generalizable to humans.
No problem. We’re doing the natural experiments in various jurisdictions. A study that determined mask wearing levels by sampling store video surveillance in a large collection of jurisdictions, and counted deaths would be straightforward and hard to argue with. (Might be complicated to untangle from the effects high-compliance 2-meter social distancing, but doable.)
With a sufficiently large number of deaths, we’ll have our science, hopefully read for wave 2, and for the next pandemic.