I hope you will consider quarantining your son for 14 days (or at least a week) away from the rest of you - either in a separate part of the house or in your cabin in the woods. Wishing your family good health!
We don’t really know anything about immunity yet. China is opening up Wuhan little by little. It will be interesting to watch and follow what happens there.
It’s… already happening. There are stories everywhere of lupies being denied their medication.
Moscow orders citywide quarantine starting Monday
From CNN’s Mary Ilyushina
Moscow imposed a citywide quarantine starting March 30 until further notice for all residents regardless of their age, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said in a statement.
“(Since restrictions were imposed) movements in the city decreased by two-thirds, which this is very good,” Sobyanin said. “Although it is obvious that not everyone heard us.”
Residents will only be able to leave their houses to get urgent medical help, go to a nearby grocery store or pharmacy, and to walk their pets in the proximity of 100m from their residence. The exception will be made for essential workers.
City officials will deploy a “smart monitoring” system to enforce these restrictions, Sobyanin said, and the city will develop a special pass system for people to get permission to leave their homes.
Public and private transportation, as well as leaving or entering the city, is still allowed, according to the statement.
Ohio governor says state does not have enough N95 masks
From CNN’s Hollie Silverman
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said his state does not have enough N95 masks to meet the demand of healthcare workers and first responders.
Many people who need the masks are using them longer than they would normally use them, DeWine said.
DeWine said he is hoping the FDA will give a full approval for the use of a mask cleaning machine produced by Battelle.
The governor said he called President Donald Trump this morning to express how urgently the approval is needed and said the President told him he would do all he could to get the approval.
Trump took to Twitter to express “hope” that the “FDA can approve Mask Sterilization equipment ASAP.”
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Hope the FDA can approve Mask Sterilization equipment ASAP. As per Governor @MikeDeWine, there is a company in Ohio, @Battelle, which has equipment that can sterilize masks quickly.
“As per Governor @MikeDeWine, there is a company in Ohio, @Batelle, which has equipment that can sterilize masks quickly,” the President’s tweet continued.
Battelle’s machine is capable of sanitizing 80,000 N95 masks a day for reuse, DeWine said.
Canadian officials correct virus data, now say only 12% of patients hospitalized are under age 40
From CNN’s Paula Newton
Canadian health officials Sunday corrected erroneous data reported widely during a press conference Saturday.
In a tweet, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam apologized for the error and said: “I misspoke on the percentage of hospitalized cases.”
“There was an error made. Based on a subset of case reports with age and hospitalization data, 12% (not 30%) of those hospitalized were under 40 years of age,” Health Canada wrote in an email sent to CNN.
The statement attributed the error to a lag in ‘real time data’.
“The case report forms lag behind the real time data, while they provide more in depth information for epidemiological analysis,” the statement said.
New York Fire Department has more than 230 members with coronavirus
From CNN’s Kristina Sgueglia
More than 230 members of New York’s Fire Department have confirmed positive coronavirus tests as of Friday, according to the department.
The members include firefighters, emergency medical responders and civilians, the department said.
The department experienced the busiest four days in the history of EMS at the end of last week – “each day has broken a record,” the department said in email.
More than 14,000 National Guard personnel supporting coronavirus response
From CNN’s Ryan Browne
There are now more than 14,000 Air and Army National Guard personnel supporting the COVID-19 response efforts at the direction of their governors, according to a news release from the National Guard.
Twenty-two states and two US territories now have the “authority to command active and reserve component troops under control of a state’s governor,” the release said.
“We are using every tool available to get through this national crisis as fast as possible and get our great American economic juggernaut back to work,” Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said in a statement. “COVID-19 is the most immediate threat facing our nation, and the virus knows no state boundaries. What the National Guard is doing in the states is part of a nationwide war on the coronavirus.”
Travelers entering Florida should expect to be stopped and screened
From CNN’s Melissa Alonso
Motorists entering Florida will be directed to weigh stations by law enforcement officers who will allow travelers to either return to the interstate or to pull aside for further screening, according to a release from Florida Department of Transportation.
The measure is part of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s order to limit community spread by requiring travelers on I-10 and I-95 coming from Louisiana, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to isolate for a period of 14 days.
Travelers entering Florida will be required to complete a form, including each traveler’s contact information and trip details, the release said.
“Failure to complete the form and failure to follow any isolation or quarantine order from DOH are a violation of Florida law,” according to the release.
Florida Highway Patrol “will staff the checkpoint at I-10 at the Alabama/Florida line, 24 hours a day with approximately 16 troopers in 12-hour shifts,” FDOT said.
Travelers will be provided with a traveler card, “which has contact information and guidance in the event the traveler exhibits symptoms while in isolation that are attributed to” coronavirus, the release said.
New York governor on federal bill: “The help we were waiting for from Washington never came”
From CNN’s Kristina Sgueglia
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the bill that just passed by the federal government gives New York 1.9% of its budget to to use for coronavirus — which translates to about $5 billion.
Cuomo said other states got up 20% “that don’t even have coronavirus cases."
“We have more cases than anyone else, we got the lowest level of reimbursement in the bill," he said during his daily press conference Sunday.
He said the federal bill had no funding to help with the state’s lost revenue.
Cuomo said Congress has to come back to Capitol Hill and pass another bill.
“We were all waiting for this last federal piece of legislation because we all believed it was gonna have money to help us with our revenue shortfall, and then it didn’t," he said.
He said the state has $5 billion in the bill for health care and hospitals, adding “ironically our last problem is the healthcare budget.”
“The help we were waiting for from Washington never came,” he said.
The big problem is how do to fund the schools, and that’s where the state has “zero dollars,” he said.
India’s Modi apologizes for “necessary” national lockdown
From CNN’s Mitchell McCluskey
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologized for a nationwide lockdown during his monthly radio address to the nation on Sunday morning.
“Let me seek forgiveness from all the countrymen. My conscience tells me that you will definitely forgive me as I had to take certain decisions which have put you in a lot of difficulty,” Modi said.
Modi ordered the 21-day complete lockdown on March 24 in an effort to fight the coronavirus from spreading. All nonessential establishments, including shops, factories, and places of worship, are required to remain closed throughout the lockdown.
The decision left tens of thousands of India’s migrant laborers scrambling to return to their hometowns, as they no longer had a means of income in India.
In his radio address, Modi asked poor Indians for their forgiveness.
“Especially when I look at my poor brothers and sisters, I definitely feel that they must be thinking, what kind of prime minister is this who has placed us in this difficulty? I especially seek their forgiveness,” Modi said.
“I understand your troubles but there was no other way to wage a war against corona for a country like India with a population of 1.3 billion. It is a battle of life and death and we have to win it, therefore, such strong measures were absolutely necessary. Nobody likes to take such strong measures, however, looking at the situation all over the world, it seems this is the only option,” Modi said.
“The second fear is that if enough healthcare workers get sick not only will they not be available but the healthy ones won’t show up. Healthcare workers are some of the most selfless people around, especially nurses but they also have families.”
If someone does come up with a safe and effective vaccine, producing 7 billion doses in a short time period will be a big challenge. The first few million doses should go to health care workers. The immediate families of health care workers, particularly elderly spouses, are also high priority partly because you do not want your health care workers staying home to keep their spouses alive.
Regarding New Orleans:
https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_26b27b0c-7089-11ea-9bfd-fb10614704c4.html
At least 8,503 people are in the hospital for coronavirus across New York
From CNN’s Sheena Jones
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during his daily press conference at least 8,503 people are in the hospital for coronavirus.
At least 965 people have died from coronavirus across New York, he said. That number is up from 728 previously reported.
He also said at least 282 people are in intensive care across New York and about 165 people have been intubated.
There are 59,313 confirmed Covid-19 cases across New York, Cuomo said. At least 172,360 people have been tested.
Cuomo says Javits Center will come online this week
From CNN’s Sheena Jones
The Javits Convention Center in New York City, which has been converted into a 1,000-bed makeshift field hospital to help alleviate the burden the coronavirus is placing on civilian hospital infrastructure, will come online this week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a press conference.
Trauma physician at Florida’s biggest hospital: “We are slowly descending into chaos”
From CNN’s Paul Murphy
A trauma physician at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital told CNN the hospital’s ICU is beginning to fill up just as they are being told there’s a supply shortage to treat coronavirus.
“We are slowly descending into chaos,” the physician said. “We keep on drilling and preparing but it’s already taking a toll on our staff. Both emotionally and psychologically.”
The trauma physician said the presence of coronavirus created a thick layer of fog they have to operate in as they try and treat patients.
“It’s not like in the ICU,” the physician said. “Everybody knows the patient has COVID and has time to don the equipment before going into the room.”
Normally they rely on literature, research and training in the trauma center, developed over years of study and practice. But the physician says they are “flying blind” in a storm without instruments right now.
“With COVID and trauma there is nothing,” the physician said. “So, we had to build guidelines from the ground up in record time and start training our teams on those guidelines not really knowing if they are best practices or not.”
Jackson Memorial Hospital is one of the largest hospitals in the US with 1,550 licensed beds. It’s the biggest hospital in the state of Florida and holds the Ryder Trauma Center, Miami-Dade County’s only adult and pediatric Level 1 trauma center.
So, first we had one hydroxychloroquine/azithromycin non-doubled-blinded study out of a fraudster’s lab, and now we have a second hydroxychloroquine/azithromycin non-doubled-blinded study out of the same fraudster’s lab.
I’d like to see a study that is (1) not out of a lab that is already known to fake data and (2) double blinded. I don’t think this is too much to ask. If the combination actually works, it works for doctors who don’t fake data too.
730 uniformed NYPD officers infected with coronavirus, official says
From CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz
There are 730 uniformed New York Police department officers infected with coronavirus, as well as 96 civilian NYPD employees, bringing the total to 826 positive coronavirus cases, according to a law enforcement official.
Twenty-nine of the individuals are hospitalized and one is in critical condition, the official said.
Beyond these cases, the department — which has about 36,000 officers — has over 4,662 officers out sick, which is about 12% of the department.
In a rare step, the NYPD is advising officers and employees with underlying conditions who want a special accommodation because they may be vulnerable to the virus to seek permission from their commanding officers to work from home, the official said.
They’re also advising pregnant staff members to do the same.
New Jersey governor says CDC travel advisory on tri-state is “de facto happening already”
From CNN’s Mirna Alsharif
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” said the travel advisory for New Jersey, Connecticut and New York was “de facto happening already.”
He was referring to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issuing a travel advisory urging people in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to “refrain from non-essential domestic travel” for the next two weeks.
“The fact of the matter is, people really aren’t traveling a whole lot. A travel warning, we’re fine with,” Murphy said.
New Jersey has a little more than 11,000 positive cases of coronavirus and 140 dead due to the virus as of Saturday, Murphy said. He added the state has yet to see how the dramatic steps they’ve taken on social distancing will affect those numbers.
New Jersey has received 120,000 N95 masks and 1,000 medical beds in supplies, but Murphy says the state is “still way short.”
“The big headline for us right now are ventilators. We had a very specific conversation with the White House last night about ventilators,” Murphy said.
This is the same study whose results have been criticized by physicians and statisticians. From a review in STAT published on Friday:
https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/27/we-dont-know-hydroxychloroquine/
A follow-up study by a group from Shanghai University did not show any effect of hydroxychloroquine on COVID-19 outcomes.
I have a friend who is currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and is on a ventilator. She is receiving hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, even though her doctor says they have not seen any effect in their experience.
Don’t forget that total beds in every city in the NY state are controlled by Albany and the regulatory apparatus called Certificate of Need. (The CON process goes back to the 60’s, so the current Cuomo is only the latest Gov with planning/shortage issues.)
And it doesn’t help that NY has fewer ICU beds on average, again thanks to Albany’s planning over the years. NYC has ~3.0 ICU beds/10,000; The Bronx is 2.4. For perspective, the national average is 3.6; San Francisco has 4.0.
In other words if NY has a shortage of ICU beds today, it’s by design.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/23/map-places-america-with-most-fewest-icu-beds/
Yes, open label studies aren’t so compelling. With that said, docs are certainly talking amongst themselves as they try various treatment protocols.
One can search clinical trials here: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/
You can define searches and sort the data in many ways.
On the home page there is even a pink box with a link to covid-19 studies.
Looks like there are 4 hydroxychloroquine + azithromycin studies getting ready to start:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?cond=&term=hydroxychloroquine+and+azithromycin&cntry=&state=&city=&dist=
I read the Julia Ioffe article in GQ about the guy working in the New York testing lab. It didn’t seem to me like either the author or her subject understood the math.
How do these people not understand how much better a tenfold increase in 13 days is than a tenfold increase in six days? A 10x increase in six days is a 100x increase in twelve days!
Do they think that thirteen days from now, it doesn’t make any difference whether we have ten times as many dead people or over a hundred times as many dead people? There are 700 dead in NYC now. Do they think 7000 dead by April 13 and 70,000 dead by April 13 are equivalently bad?
Do the damn math.
MLB players open to major changes to play a 2020 season
From CNN’s Kevin Dotson
Major League Baseball players are willing to make major changes to the typical MLB schedule because of the coronavirus outbreak in order to play a 2020 season, according a statement from a MLB Players Association spokesperson and comments by MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark.
The changes the players are willing to consider include playing later into the calendar year, an increase in double-headers, fewer restrictions on days off and expanded roster sizes to provide greater depth for a compressed schedule.
The MLBPA also says it is open to playing the regular season through October with postseason stretching into November.
The players are also open to the possibility of playing in empty stadiums, playing in neutral sites, and expanding the postseason structure.
The MLBPA stresses that all of these possibilities are predicated on the ability to ensure the health and safety of the players and all other personnel involved in staging games as a prerequisite for the resumption of play.
Treasury Secretary says Americans can expect stimulus checks to be direct deposited within three weeks
From CNN’s Kristen Holmes
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Americans could expect the checks from the stimulus bill to be direct deposited in their accounts within three weeks from Sunday.
He told reporters at the White House that for people who did not provide the government their direct deposit information, there will be a web-based application to get their money.
Mnuchin also told small businesses: “Go back and hire your workers because the government is paying you to do that."
“(My) number one objective is now delivering to the American workers and American companies the needed money that will put this economy in a position where it get through the next eight-10 weeks,” he said.
Rhode Island issues order demanding all travelers into the state to self-quarantine for 14 days
From CNN’s Sheena Jones
Rhode Island Gov. Gina M. Raimondo signed an order obtained by CNN saying she will demand all travelers coming into the state to self-quarantine for 14 days in hopes to stop the spread of coronavirus.
This comes after Raimondo previously targeted New York travelers, saying she would stop them from coming into the state.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo threatened to sue the governor over that previous order.
CNN has reached out to Raimondo’s office for comment.
[So this makes RI like Hawaii. ]
Fauci says Trump agreed not to invoke quarantine after intensive White House discussions
From CNN’s Nicky Robertson
Key federal health official Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN’s Jake Tapper President Trump decided not to impose a “quarantine” on parts of the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and instead issue a travel advisory for that area after officials “had very intensive discussions last night” at the White House with him. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“After discussions with the President we made it clear and he agreed it would be much better to do what’s called a strong advisory," Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on CNN’s “State of the Union. “The reason for that is you don’t want to get to the point that you’re enforcing things that would create a bigger difficulty, morale and otherwise, when you could probably accomplish the same goal.”
Fauci said about 56% of the country’s new infections are coming from the New York City area.
What was trying to be done is to get people, unless there’s necessary travel, so all nonessential travel, just hold off, because what you don’t want is people traveling from that area to other areas of the country and inadvertently and innocently infecting other individuals. We felt the better way to do this would be an advisory as opposed to a very strict quarantine. And the president agreed, and that’s why he made that determination last night,” he said.
A bizarre story about a woman who coughed on groceries on purpose and was arrested for it:
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, wife of Canadian Prime Minister, says she has recovered from Covid-19
From CNN’s Paula Newton
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, the wife of Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced Saturday evening on Instagram that she has fully recovered from Covid-19.
The good news is that I have a clear bill of health now by medical professionals so I’m super happy,” she said in an Instagram post in both English and French.
“From the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you to everyone who reached out to me with their well wishes. And to everyone who is suffering right now, I send you all my love,” she added.
Gregoire Trudeau tested positive for the virus on March 12 after a visit to the UK.
Justin Trudeau not tested: Since the announcement, Justin Trudeau has remained in quarantine at his Ottawa home with his wife and 3 children. He has been holding meetings virtually and has been giving daily press briefings outside his home.
Trudeau and his children have not been tested for Covid-19 and the prime minister has said that he and the kids have not shown any symptoms.
When asked if he would be resuming a more regular schedule including in-person meetings, Trudeau said earlier Saturday that he and his family would continue to follow the advice of medical professionals.
French minister says “credibility” of EU “at stake” on coronavirus crisis
From CNN’s Arnaud Siad in London and Benjamin Berteau in Paris
The “credibility and usefulness” of the European Union is “at stake” with the coronavirus crisis, French Minister of State for European Affairs Amélie De Montchalin said on Sunday.
Speaking to RTL Radio, De Montchalin said: “If some do not want [solidarity], we’ll have to question their place [in the EU], and to question what we are still doing with 27 member states. It’s a fundamental, existential question.”
De Montchalin was speaking following disagreements among EU member states over the best way to tackle the impact of the coronavirus on the EU economy. A European diplomat with knowledge of a lengthy EU meeting that took place on Thursday told CNN Italy and Spain had blocked a final EU-wide statement, saying it was vague and lacked concrete measures.
“If Europe is just an internal market when everything is well, then it has no sense to it,” De Montchalin added.
Vietnam to halt incoming flights for two weeks over coronavirus concerns
From Chermaine Lee in Hong Kong
Vietnam will halt incoming passenger flights in the coming two weeks, according to a government report released on Sunday.
Flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to other locations and vice versa will also be reduced as much as possible, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said.
Lottery services will also be suspended for 15 days from April 1.
The Vietnamese government announced containment measures earlier in the week, including a ban of gatherings of more than 20 people and suspension of non-essential services.
[ I hadn’t even thought about the lottery. There’s another revenue source our states will be missing. ]
Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus squad give up $100 million in wages amid coronavirus outbreak
From CNN’s Matias Grez
With football on hold across the world, Juventus’ first-team squad and coach Maurizio Sarri have agreed to give up four months’ wages to help the club manage the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Juventus say the agreement – equal to the monthly payments for March, April, May and June – will save the club a total of €90 million ($100.5 million).
All sport in Italy has been canceled until at least April 3 but Juve says it will renegotiate with players “in good faith” should the current season be rescheduled and resumed.
Mexico asks citizens to stay home until April 19 amid Covid-19 outbreak
From CNNE’s Daniel Silva Fernandez
Mexican health authorities intensified their call for Mexicans to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 by staying home until April 19.
Mexican deputy health secretary Hugo López-Gatell said on Saturday: “This can’t be postponed, it is our last chance to do it and do it now… And this requires that we massively restrict ourselves and stay at home.”
López-Gatell directly asked Mexican society to reduce the mobility of all citizens, reducing work and school activity and the massive concentrations of people in Mexican public space.
The deputy health secretary said that Mexico must control the spread of the virus in the country before it is too late, otherwise the Mexican government will not have the capacity to attend to all those infected in the country.
Health authorities updated the cases of infections by the coronavirus in Mexico, which this Saturday reached 848 confirmed cases and 16 deaths. Authorities suspect there in fact more than 2,600 cases.
UK should prepare for “significant period” of lockdown measures, says minister
From CNN’s Sam Tapfumaneyi
The UK public should prepare for a “significant period” where lockdown measures are in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Cabinet minister Michael Gove has said.
"There are different projections as to how long the lockdown might last,” Gove told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday.
“I can’t make an accurate prediction, but everyone does have to prepare for a significant period when these measures are still in place,” Gove said speaking later on the BBC’s Andrew Marr on Sunday.
UK lockdown: In the UK people are banned from leaving their homes apart from for a few limited reasons after Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed the most stringent restrictions seen in Britain since the end of World War II.
Police will break up public gatherings and fine people flouting rules, Johnson said in a televised statement on Monday evening, dramatically ramping up the country’s response to the growing coronavirus pandemic.
Johnson, who has himself tested positive for the coronavirus, will write letters to 30 million households across the UK urging people to stay home, and telling the public: “We know things will get worse before they get better.”
Increased testing: Gove told Sky News this morning that 10,000 people were being tested for coronavirus daily, with the government hoping to increase this to 25,000 a day. Healthcare and social care workers are “first in line” for those tests, Gove added.
Rising death toll: More than 1,000 people have died from coronavirus in the UK as of 27 March, and more than 17,000 have tested positive for the virus, according to figures from the Department of Health and Social Care.
Patients in Norway to take part in Covid-19 treatment research study
From CNN’s Inga Thordar
Patients in Norway will be the first to take part in a major international research study for a promising treatment for Covid-19, initiated by the World Health Organization.
The WHO study, named Solidarity, is starting to treat its first patient at Oslo University Hospital, the Norwegian government said in a statement. The study will be led by John-Arne Røttingen, Director of the Research Council of Norway.
The plan is for the study to be extended to 22 hospitals throughout Norway. Among treatments to be tested are the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine/plaquenil, the Ebola drug remdesivir and an HIV treatment (lopinavir/ritonavir) either alone or together with a drug for hepatitis (interferon-β1a).
Throughout the study, researchers around the world will gather information on the effectiveness of the treatments on patients’ survival and how long they need intensive care and hospitalization.
Australia to limit gatherings to two people in public and close outdoor areas
From CNN’s Hilary Whiteman in Brisbane
Australia will limit gatherings to two people, among other new measures to fight the novel coronavirus, from Monday onwards, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
Gatherings will be limited to two people in public spaces and in other areas, down from a ceiling of 10 people implemented earlier, Morrison said at a press conference on Sunday.
All public outdoor areas, including playgrounds and skate parks, will also be closed.
Morrison said all residents “must stay home,” except��to shop for necessities, medical care, exercise, work or education. He urged people aged over 70 to stay at home and self-isolate.
He also announced a six-month moratorium on evictions.
Returnees quarantined: On Sunday, 1,600 people who returned to Australia on international flights went into quarantine at hotels in major cities, Morrison added.