Coronavirus in the US

Parent Cafe
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US Surgeon General appeals to young people to donate blood during the coronavirus outbreak

US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams called on young people — especially millennials and members of Generation Z — to consider donating blood during the coronavirus outbreak.

“One donation can save up to three lives. Blood centers are opening now and in need of your donation,” Adams said.
He continued: “Blood donation is safe and blood centers are taking extra precautions including spacing beds 6 feet apart and disinfecting surfaces between between patients and temperature checking staffs and encouraging donors making appointments ahead of time so we can space them out.”

Federal Aviation Administration chief will self-quarantine after exposure
From CNN’s Greg Wallace

Federal Aviation Administration chief Stephen Dickson will self-quarantine for the next week after his recent exposure to a congressman who has since tested positive for the coronavirus, an agency official told CNN on Thursday.

On March 11, Dickson “had a brief interaction” with Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who has since tested positive.

As a result, Dickson will “self-quarantine and work remotely for seven days to ensure he is symptom-free 14 days after contact with the congressman,” the official said.

“On March 11, before a hearing at the House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson had a brief interaction with Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart. As a result of Rep. Diaz-Balart testing positive for COVID-19, the administrator is following the recommended protocols from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and will self-quarantine and work remotely for seven days to ensure he is symptom-free 14 days after contact with the congressman," an FAA official said.

Trump administration promises to buy 30 million barrels of crude to aid oil industry
From CNN’s Matt Egan

The Energy Department promised Thursday to support US oil producers facing “potentially catastrophic losses” by quickly purchasing 30 million barrels of crude.

Those barrels, purchased at dirt-cheap prices, will be used to start filling up America’s emergency oil stockpile, known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR.

The initial purchase will be focused on small and midsize US oil producers, the group most at risk from the oil crash to $20 a barrel.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said he will recommend to President Trump that he request funding from Congress to buy even more crude — enough to fill up the SPR.

“At $22 for WTI crude, we should be filling up the reserve for the next 10 years,” Mnuchin said on Fox Business Thursday morning.
Mnuchin said the oil market has “nothing to do with the coronavirus, other than there’s just a lot less demand.”

That’s not exactly right: The demand destruction, caused by mass cancellations of flights and widespread factory shutdowns, is a major driver of the oil crash.

The other huge problem: Saudi Arabia and Russia are flooding the market with too much supply in a bid to crowd out high-cost US producers.

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It is approved for malaria, RA, and lupus. It is used off-label for many diseases.

Docs can use it to treat covid-19 patients now, and they are. But they don’t really know the correct dose…but they can make reasonable estimates. FDA commissioner Hahn spoke about starting a trial, but docs do not have to wait for the results of said trial to treat patients with Plaquenil.

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Don’t know about that. Ohio seemed to have been the leader in fighting the virus. It wasn’t the sophisticated coastal states, that showed the leadership.

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I’m no more upset by that than I am about Russia saying, the Brits did it. Authoritarian types doing what authoritarian types do. Sad to see that an American president is apparently one of them too.

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How is Chloroquine a “game-changer” if it hasn’t been proven to work against the disease?

Not trying to be Debbie Downer, but also not wildly optimistic. Didn’t the president also say that the FDA needed to do more testing?

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/19/coronavirus-treatment-trump-directs-fda-to-examine-whether-malaria-drug-can-be-used.html

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2 TSA screeners at JFK airport test positive for coronavirus
From CNN’s Greg Wallace

The Transportation Security Administration said two baggage screening officers at JFK airport have tested positive for coronavirus.

One screener last worked on March 13 in Terminal 5 in the checked baggage room. The second screener last worked on March 12 in Terminal 4 in the checked baggage room.

This brings a total of 12 TSA officers who have tested positive.

At least one passenger with confirmed coronavirus case took a JetBlue flight out of JFK on March 11. A second passenger deplaned from a Delta flight on March 16, and after boarding, learned he or she had been exposed to a coronavirus case. It is unclear whether the workers contracted the cases at work or elsewhere.

Alabama’s Gulf Shores beaches to close due to COVID-19 outbreak
From CNN’s Tina Burnside

Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft announced via video Thursday morning that the Gulf Shores beaches will close due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Effective 7 a.m. tomorrow, all public beaches in Gulf Shores will close with a tentative reopen date of Monday, April 6. Additionally, we will be requesting the Baldwin County Commission, Town of Dauphin Island, and City of Orange Beach join us in asking Gov. Kay Ivey to close all Alabama beaches for the same time frame,” Craft said.
A state of local emergency was declared for Gulf Shores on Thursday.

***CDC loosens guidelines to allow medical experts exposed to COVID-19 to keep working

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has loosened its guidelines to allow health care workers who have been exposed to COVID-19 to continue working as long as they wear a mask, according to CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

“This is a huge concern, John, because this is how you potentially increase the spread, at least not slow down the spread,” Gupta said to CNN’s John Berman this morning.
Within the guidelines, the CDC says bandanas and scarves could be used in place of a mask, Gupta said. The reason for these guidelines is due to a lack of personal protective equipment and not enough health care workers, Gupta said.

Alli Hedges Maser
@AllisonLHedges
JUST IN: @sanjaygupta says CDC has loosened its guidelines to allow health care workers who have been exposed to COVID-19 to continue working as long as they wear a mask.

…and if they run out of masks, use a scarf or bandana.

“This is concerning.”

Embedded video

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Beijing urges local police to withdraw “reprimand” of whistleblower Wuhan doctor
From CNN’s Steven Jiang in Beijing

The Chinese government on Thursday announced the result of its investigation into issues related to Dr. Li Wenliang, the ophthalmologist who was reprimanded by police in Wuhan for trying to warn others about the coronavirus — and whose death from the virus on Feb. 7 sparked nationwide outrage.

The national authorities confirmed that the 34-year-old Li, who worked at a hospital in Wuhan, re-posted internal government documents on the emerging outbreak on Dec. 30 in a social media group chat and warned others not to go outside.

Local police in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, subsequently summoned Li on Jan. 3 and issued him a formal reprimand.

The government investigators also said that Li received proper treatment once he became ill, and all medical procedures were approved by him or his family.

The authorities concluded that local police’s reprimand of Li was “inappropriate” based on improper application of law and that it should be rectified. The government investigators urged local police to withdraw its reprimand and hold relevant personnel accountable.

US-led coalition in Afghanistan halts troop movement due to coronavirus
From CNN’s Ryan Browne

The US-led international coalition in Afghanistan has implemented a series of restrictions in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, including “temporarily” pausing the movement of personnel movement into Afghanistan and delaying the return of some service members.

“In some cases these measures will necessitate some service members remaining beyond their scheduled departure dates,” Gen. Scott Miller, the commander of US and international forces in Afghanistan said in a statement.

“As of March 19, 21 Resolute Support personnel exhibiting flu-like symptoms are in isolation and receiving medical care,” the statement said, referring to the official name of the international coalition operation.

The statement said that because there are no testing facilities in Afghanistan, tests are being performed at a military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, or at other civilian locations.

Additionally “1,500 multi-national service members, civilians and contractors who have arrived in theater within the past week are living in screening facilities prior to onward movement.”

Miller said that this was due to an “Abundance of caution, not because they are sick.”

He also said that access to bases had been restricted and that while efforts to train and advise local Afghan forces continue there has been a push to conduct meetings via “technical means” as opposed to in person.

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Yes. Hahn clarified what Trump meant. It is not officially “approved” in the typical FDA meaning of the term, but because its safety is known and there is some data hinting at potential efficacy, yes, docs can prescribe it off-label to covid patients as well.

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British government has no plans to restrict travel in and out of London
From Luke McGee and Schams Elwazer in London

The British government currently has no plans to restrict travel in and out of London or to close down the capital’s underground tube service, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman told reporters Thursday.

Transport for London (TFL) said Wednesday that it had plans to close “until further notice” up to 40 tube stations that do not interchange with other lines.

Johnson is meeting Thursday with London mayor Sadiq Khan to discuss plans for the capital, according to City Hall.

The meeting comes amid widespread speculation and concern that London could be placed under lockdown.

All the nations of the UK announced school closures starting this weekend “until further notice." Politicians are suggesting that schools might not resume during this academic year.

The UK government has attempted to play down the prospect of an imminent lockdown in London, a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson declined to rule out stricter measures for the city.

On Wednesday, multiple government sources told CNN that conservations had taken place in Downing Street discussing measures ranging from shutting down parts of the capital’s transport network to restricting travel in and out of the city. Similar reports appeared across the UK media.

On Thursday, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said there was “zero prospect” of any restrictions on travel in and out of London, and that there were “no plans” to shut down its transport network. However, the city’s transport authority had already closed parts of London’s Tube network, and the government did not rule out introducing further social distancing measures in the coming days.

Johnson was due to meet the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, on Thursday to discuss plans to fight coronavirus in London, a spokesman for City Hall told CNN.

Giving evidence to the London assembly on Thursday, Khan said too many Londoners were failing to follow official advice. “We are clearly still in the early phase of this crisis but the spread of the virus is at a more advanced stage in London than in other parts of the country. This means that further measures will need to be introduced at the point at which they will have the biggest effect,” he said.

China to divert some Beijing-bound international flights amid growing imported cases
From CNN’s Steven Jiang in Beijing

Chinese authorities have announced that some Beijing-bound international flights will be diverted to nearby cities for health screenings in the coming days.

Passengers will clear immigration and customs at their first point of entry and only those deemed healthy will be allowed to board the same aircraft again to fly to Beijing.

Some context: The Chinese capital has recorded a growing number of imported coronavirus cases in recent days.

Beijing authorities have already tightened screening and quarantine procedures targeting international arrivals. With a few exceptions, all travelers arriving from abroad are now required to undergo a 14-day quarantine at designated government facilities at their own expense.

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I tried to link the study a while ago but my post didn’t post and said it was pending review. But here is the summary analysis:

Recent guidelines from South Korea and China report that chloroquine is an effective antiviral therapeutic treatment against Coronavirus Disease 2019. Use of chloroquine (tablets) is showing favorable outcomes in humans infected with Coronavirus including faster time to recovery and shorter hospital stay. US CDC research shows that chloroquine also has strong potential as a prophylactic (preventative) measure against coronavirus in the lab, while we wait for a vaccine to be developed. Chloroquine is an inexpensive, globally available drug that has been in widespread human use since 1945 against malaria, autoimmune and various other conditions.

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Physicians have been using Plaquenil to treat some covid-19 patients, with supposedly some good results. The testing they were talking about in the presser may or may not commence, but docs can use Plaquenil to treat patients now. It will not likely be a cure.

Docs are also currently treating covid-19 patients with many other marketed products, including some HIV anti-virals, as well.

Docs can also ask to use developmental products (those not on the market) as a compassionate use treatment. This is how some patients are receiving remdesivir, for example.

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Ohio isn’t rural. Plus you didn’t quote the whole bit;

“especially in rural areas and states where governors have been slow to respond or in outright denial”

And NYS is definitely showing leadership.

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So now we’re quickly going to run out of Plaquenil. I wonder how fast it can be manufactured, and if it is manufactured in the United States. I also wonder whether, in fact, it works for coronavirus. It’s irresponsible as heck for Trump to be talking about unproven drug treatments in his presser. We need to find out if it works before every doctor prescribes it and we run out.

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There was also a French study that came out this week where the combo of Plaquenil and Zpack had good results (people testing negative for the virus in just a few days as compared to a control group). There was also a hospital in Washington who stated that they were treating all admitted patients with Plaquenil because they are running out of ventilators (there are some contraindications for using it, but those were noted in the protocol). So it’s being used. I think there’s also hope that it can be preventative for health care workers who’ve been exposed.

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I will admit - plaquenil DOES sound “better” than remdesivir in one respect, since the latter is given as a 10-day IV infusion.

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apparently Bayer is donating its supply of chloroquine to the US govt.

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/bayer-is-donating-its-malaria-drug-that-could-help-coronavirus-patients-in-the-u.s.-2020

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There is some data coming out of China and South Korea suggesting efficacy. See post #8092.

Docs are already prescribing it, and that makes sense. There are many FDA approved manufacturers of hydroxychloroquine…it is available as a generic because it’s been on the market so long. Don’t know about supply capabilities, or countries involved in the manufacture.

There is no doubt a risk to using any drug that has not been approved for covid-19, but docs and patients have to make that decision.

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Netflix urged to slow streaming to stop the internet from breaking
From CNN’s Hadas Gold

The European Union is urging Netflix and other streaming platforms to stop showing video in high definition to prevent the internet from breaking because of the coronavirus pandemic.

With so many countries on lockdowns to fight the spread of the virus, hundreds of millions working from home and even more children out of school, EU officials are concerned about the strain on internet bandwidth.

European Commissioner Thierry Breton tweeted Wednesday evening that he had spoken with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. Breton called on viewers and companies to “#SwitchtoStandard definition when HD is not necessary” to secure internet access for all.

A Netflix spokesperson told CNN Business that Hastings and Breton will speak again on Thursday, and said it already adjusts streaming quality and tries to minimize bandwidth consumption.

“Commissioner Breton is right to highlight the importance of ensuring that the internet continues to run smoothly during this critical time,” the Netflix spokesperson said. “We’ve been focused on network efficiency for many years, including providing our open connect service for free to telecommunications companies.”
Facebook on Wednesday acknowledged that the effects of the pandemic were stretching it to the limit. In a call with reporters, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook was facing “big surges” in use as the coronavirus forces millions to stay home.

He described the increase in demand as “well beyond” the annual spike usually seen on New Year’s Eve. Voice and video calls on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, in particular, are more than double usual levels.

Trump embraces fight with “invisible enemy” only days after dismissing the virus
Analysis from CNN’s Stephen Collinson

It’s a stunning reversal President Donald Trump would like Americans to forget.

Only days after dismissing the coronavirus threat as a distraction, he’s now assumed the title of a resolute war time president fighting an “invisible enemy” while promising to rally the nation behind him in pursuit of “total victory.”

Trump’s new posture is in response to a crisis that is worsening by the hour and appears to be partly designed to cover up the administration’s failures in distributing testing kits that might have helped authorities slow the virus’ advance.

But his somber rhetoric is already being undermined by his own actions. He’s casting doubt over whether he will actually implement a move to invoke the Defense Production Act, which could speed the production of badly needed ventilators, masks and other supplies for hospital workers.

And it turns out the announcement that hospital ships will be deployed to New York and a forthcoming West Coast destination will happen more slowly than initially thought – it could take weeks before the vessels are ready, said Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

A war against coronavirus: Trump’s war metaphor also suggests a willingness of the populace to allow some infringements of hard won civil liberties in extreme circumstances – as is happening with self-isolating right now.

But the concept of a wartime presidency also brings political and personal expectations of the commander-in-chief himself and may require a significant refashioning of Trump’s divisive political method.

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And you somehow think the same thing wouldn’t have happened here? Bad news that could lead to economic problems would be silenced and blame pushed onto someone else?

Gov’ts aren’t terribly different from each other, esp when money is the chief concern.

Any pandemic can happen anywhere. Fortunately, they don’t happen often.

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I won’t bother with all of the cut and pasting. But if you want to look at the cnn contributors twitter feeds following thr Chinese travel ban, the administration was xenophobic and racist for doing so. And now it is we should have done more.

And does anyone know the complexity of the procurement and deibursement system is for federal government purchasing. The concept of the states getting ventilators directly is not saying the feds aren’t getting them and being available. It’s a simple statement that you can skip the red tape because even with loosening it’s still there and order directly in the short term. Do it. And money will follow.

Why is this being twisted? There’s a huge push on all fronts and getting them built. But time is of the essence. If California and Ny have suppliers just go get them. It’s not that complicated to me.