Another Covid-19 rapid test (2 mins) approved today. The company, Bodysphere, says they will be able to deploy ‘millions of test kits’ in the coming weeks.
Thank you Charlotte! Is “proning” lying on your back?
I saw this article and it reminded me of the rise of the middle class after the Black Death:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/business/economy/coronavirus-instacart-amazon.html
It also raised a question: I would like to share my (one) bottle of Purell with delivery people who come to my house. But if I put it on the porch, won’t it get stolen? I’m thinking it’s like putting a bowl of candy out for Halloween if away, and often kids just take one, but there’s always that one sociopath who takes more than his share…
It’s lying on your stomach!
Also something weird that occurred to me as I watched some youtube “corona song” videos. There are a bunch where the singer is dancing with, or using, toilet paper, Lysol wipes, Purell, etc. It struck me as similar to when rap stars dance with really expensive gold/diamonds/etc. 
UCSF is also rolling out an antibody test.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/Bay-Area-researchers-in-race-to-develop-15167534.php
Thank you! I feel like I should have known that.
New York governor: “We have been behind this virus since day one”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he is “tired” of trying to play catch-up in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
“I am tired of being behind this virus,” Cuomo said. "We have been behind it from day one since it got here. And we’ve been playing catch-up. You don’t win playing catch-up. We have to get ahead of it.”
Cuomo said officials underestimated the effects of the coronavirus and need to anticipate the next phases of the virus.
“The main battle is at the apex. We’re still going up the mountain. The main battle is on the top of the mountain … Then we come down the other side of the mountain. We are planning now for the battle at the top of the mountain,” Cuomo said.
He said the apex of the virus is still projected to be in 14-21 days.
New York governor says state’s hospitals are “dealing with a war”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that he met with officials from the entire state hospital system and told them, “we’re dealing with a war.”
Cuomo said he told hospital officials “we need a totally different mindset” and “we can’t do business the way we’ve always done business.”
Cuomo noted that the state has 160+ hospitals and health systems, which includes both private and public systems “working together in a way they never have before.”
Cuomo cited the number of hospital beds in the state – about 75,000 total – and said that, for example, hospital beds in Nassau County and Albany need to be available to New York City. “It’s much easier said than done but we have to do it.”
When will New York get back to normal? “It is not going to be soon,” governor says
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said “nobody knows” when coronavirus-related restrictions will end and life will go back to normal — but he warned “it is not going to be soon.”
“We’re all anxious. We’re all tired. We’re all fatigued,” he said at a news conference. “Our whole lifestyle has been disrupted. Everybody wants to know one thing: When is it over?”
“Nobody knows,” Cuomo said, before noting that some experts and US officials have floated various timeframes.
“You can have a hypothesis, you can have a projection, you can have an opinion, but nobody knows. But I can say this: It is not going to be soon,” Cuomo added.
He urged New Yorkers to “calibrate yourself and your expectations so you’re not disappointed every morning when you get up.”
There are more than 75,000 coronavirus cases in New York
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at least 75,795 people have tested positive for coronavirus across the state.
“We’re still headed up the mountain,” Cuomo said at a news conference.
At least 1,550 people have died — that’s up from 1,218 yesterday, Cuomo said.
The governor added that 10,929 patients are currently hospitalized.
Nearly 1,200 NYPD employees have coronavirus. About 15% of the department is out sick.
From CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz
As of Tuesday morning, 1,193 employees of the New York Police Department — 1,048 uniformed members and 145 civilian members — have tested positive for coronavirus, a law enforcement source tells CNN.
About 15% of the force — 5,674 members of the department — is out sick, according to the source.
As of Monday evening, 5,199 uniformed members of the NYPD, which is 14.4% of the Department’s uniformed workforce, were out sick, according to a statement released by the NYPD.
CNN
Before the whole state was ordered to stay at home, one local boutique that resells chichi fashion decorated their window display with such items (instead of plush puppies etc.) . 
German scientists have developed a coronavirus testing method that could increase test capacity tenfold
From CNN’s Fred Pleitgen in Berlin
German scientists have developed a method that could dramatically increase the capacity to test for coronavirus, the Science Ministry of the German State of Hessen says.
The new method allows for several samples to be evaluated at once, the Ministry wrote in a press release, adding that this will allow for an “increase in the test capacity in Germany from about 40,000 tests per day to about 200,000 to 400,000 tests per day without any loss of quality in the diagnostics.”
Normally, the various swabs taken during currents tests from the mouth and nose area and all separately evaluated. With the new method, scientists put several of the probes into a single, special solution and test them with the so-called PCR method, which directly detects the SARS-CoV-2 genome. If the total result is negative, then it is clear that the separate swabs are all negative, the press release says and adds, “if the result is positive, then all the swabs have to be evaluated separately.”
The UAE opens drive-through coronavirus screening facility
From Nada Altaher in Abu Dhabi
Salem Omar woke up with a sore throat on Tuesday morning, so he put on his traditional white Emirati thob and headed straight to the United Arab Emirates’ latest Covid-19 testing facility: a drive-through.
Instructions blasted through a designated FM radio channel while doctors and nurses whizzed around in scrubs and face-masks, taking nose swabs, printing labels, and stacking up samples to send to a nearby lab.
“In order to ensure my safety and the kids and the family, I decided I would come and do the test as to avoid any risk to other people,” says Omar.
Just 24 hours later, the results would be sent to him via text message.
The UAE is the fifth country in the world to set up drive-through Covid-19 testing, part of an intensive drive to carry out mass screenings for the virus.
The oil-rich state has the second-highest testing density globally. It is screening some 22,900 cases per million people and has conducted over 220,000 tests overall, according to the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP).
In just the last week, the UAE more than tripled its purchase of testing kits – from 30,000 to 100,000 – from Seegene, one of its main South Korean suppliers, according to Jeehoon Park, the company’s Middle East Executive Director.
The UAE was the first country in the Middle East to report a confirmed case of Covid-19. As of March 31 the UAE has registered 664 cases and four deaths from the pandemic, according to MOHAP.
White House coronavirus task force will discuss mask guidelines today, Fauci says
From CNN’s Adrienne Vogt
The US’s top infectious disease expert said that a broad use of masks is being considered during the coronavirus pandemic, once the supply of masks is sufficient for health care workers.
“Once we get in a situation where we have enough masks, I believe there will be some very serious consideration about more broadening this recommendation of using masks,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said on CNN. “We’re not there yet, but I think we’re close to coming to some determination.”
Fauci said they will discuss mask guidelines this afternoon at the White House coronavirus task force meeting.
World Health Organization officials yesterday said they still recommend people not wear face masks unless they are sick with coronavirus or caring for someone who is sick.
Fauci: We see “glimmers” that social distancing is working
From CNN’s Adrienne Vogt
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said social distancing measures appear to be working — but stressed that the coronavirus pandemic is still a very serious situation.
“We’re starting to see glimmers that that is actually having some dampening effect,” Fauci told CNN’s Jim Sciutto.
Fauci cautioned that the US hasn’t seen a turnaround in cases yet, but is hopeful that efforts to push mitigation is possibly slowing the rate.
“What we’re starting to see right now is just the inklings. And I don’t want to put too much stock on it, because you don’t want to get overconfident, you just want to keep pushing in what you’re doing. You’re starting to see that the daily increases are not in that steep incline, they’re starting to be able to possibly flatten out,” Fauci says.
New Orleans is preparing for a “significant amount of deaths,” official says
From CNN’s Adrienne Vogt
A New Orleans official said the city is readying for an uptick in coronavirus-related deaths. There are currently 1,480 coronavirus cases and 86 deaths in New Orleans.
In a community of about 400,000 people, the Louisiana city is tracking at about 5% mortality rate, Collin Arnold, director of the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said.
“That’s high. And our population has a higher rate of underlying health conditions. We’re preparing for a significant amount of hospitalizations and unfortunately, a corresponding significant amount of deaths,” Arnold said.
He added that he thinks the stay-at-home mandate is still working and is necessary to flatten the curve in coronavirus cases. He said 1,000 beds in the convention center will be ready by the end of the week to free up space in hospitals for the expected surge in coronavirus patients.
Fed launches another emergency program to aid foreign central banks during pandemic
From CNN’s Matt Egan
The Federal Reserve is opening up another avenue for stressed-out foreign central banks to get access to US dollars during the coronavirus crisis.
The new emergency program, announced today, is part of the Fed’s sweeping efforts to keep credit flowing to American businesses and households despite the severe economic shock inflicted by the pandemic.
The US central bank said the new temporary repurchase agreement (repo) facility will let foreign central banks swap US Treasuries for US dollars. Those greenbacks can then be transferred to local banks in need of cash.
The Fed said the new program, set to launch April 6, would mostly be used “only in unusual circumstances such as those prevailing at present.”
The goal is to lower the need for foreign central banks to dump US Treasuries in fire sales, which can disrupt markets and cause yields to rise. And that in turn lifts borrowing costs on everything from mortgages to credit cards.
Demand for the US dollar, the world’s preeminent currency, has spiked during the crisis.
In response, the Fed promised to provide cheap dollars to foreign central banks through liquidity swap lines. The Fed expanded that facility to Australia, Brazil and Mexico.
Paris Orly airport will stop commercial flights today
From CNN’s Fanny Bobille
Paris Orly airport will stop commercial flights today at 5 p.m. ET (which is 11 p.m. local time) according to the Chief Executive Officer of Orly Airport, Augustin de Romanet.
Speaking on RTL, a French radio station, Romanet said that Orly was “confining but not closing Orly airport.” He continued by saying that the airport would remain open for “medical flights, special flights, government flights and aircraft diversions.”
This is the first time that Orly has closed since it opened in 1961.
Maryland governor says people who violate stay-at-home order could face jail time CNN
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan issued a stay-at-home order for his state that went into effect at 8 p.m. ET on Monday night. Violating the order carries a penalty of up to a year in jail or a fine not to exceed $5,000.
Hogan said it was “one of the last tools in our arsenal,” telling CNN’s John Berman that “we’ve reached the point where we believe it’s necessary to further get people off the streets so we can continue to save thousands of lives.”
The Republican governor said the federal government and every individual states are aware they need more supplies and coronavirus testing — and coordination is key.
“Without the tests, we really are flying blind,” he says.
Dr. Anthony Fauci has predicted up to 200,000 deaths from coronavirus. Hogan said he’s been listening to both Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx.
“I think Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci are the ones telling us the truth about the numbers,” he says. “If you just think about it for a moment, 200,000 deaths would be…twice as many deaths as we lost in the Vietnam War and the Korean War added together. And we’re talking about over a very short period of time. So it’s just devastating.”
White House may tweak the federal coronavirus guidelines today
From CNN’s Kaitlan Collins
The White House is expected to reissue federal coronavirus guidelines sometime today, which may feature some slight adjustments, according to an administration official.
Trump announced Sunday that he would extend the federal guidelines another month.
There’s been an internal debate over whether to ease up on the social distancing efforts, and some aides recommended the President only extend them another 15 days. However, health advisers argued that a month was necessary.
Trump told aides it would be better to ease the guidelines earlier than expected rather than have to extend them yet again.
The bleak images from Elmhurst Hospital played a major role in Trump’s decision to keep the guidelines in place. Two officials said polling that showed the public largely favored keeping the guidelines intact also played a role.
Some officials don’t trust the models the President is being shown. This is a pretty prevalent line of thinking inside the West Wing. Several aides have dismissed them, believing they are overblown and that past projections have been wrong.
Officials from the task force are expected to preview those models at some point today, though it’s not clear when or how yet.
Rate of increase of new coronavirus cases appears to be slowing in New York, CNN count shows
CNN
While New York state still leads the nation — by far — in growing numbers of Covid-19 cases and deaths, the rate of daily increases did appear to slow a bit in the last seven days
An analysis of CNN’s count shows that the state’s average rate of day-over-day increase for the last seven days was 17% — compared to 58% for the previous seven-day period.
This is in line with what New York Governor Andrew Cuomo suggested in a news conference Monday.
“There is no doubt that the number is still increasing. There is no doubt that rate has slowed,” Cuomo said. “We had a doubling of cases every two days, then the doubling of three days and doubling of four days and every five days and we now have a doubling of cases every six days.”
It is too early to definitively pinpoint what’s behind the latest numbers trend, though New York is just over one week into its “PAUSE” program, an executive order outlining major restrictions and other containment measures.
It is also important to note that increased testing can impact these numbers. While more testing often leads to higher case totals, it can also lead to a backlog of test results and a delay in the true number.
When it comes to death rate reports, CNN’s count shows that New York state had an average daily increase of 34% for the last seven days, compared to 61% for the previous week. But death rate increases are much harder to interpret, since patients die over longer periods of time.
CNN’s tally is based on daily updates obtained from state and local health authorities.
Airlines due to refund $35 billion in unused tickets this quarter
From CNN’s Greg Wallace
Airline passengers around the world are due $35 billion in ticket refunds this quarter, according the International Air Transport Association, which represents airlines globally.
That sum, due to the drop in airline travel linked to the coronavirus, is “an immense amount of money to refund,” the group’s head, Alexandre de Juniac, told reporters on Tuesday.
IATA said it is asking governments to change the rules to allow airlines to make more refunds in the form of vouchers rather than cash. He said the cases where airlines are able to provide passengers a voucher for future travel rather than a refund is helpful because it can “preserve the cash of the airline.”
“We are totally conscious of the inconvenience it might represent for the passengers, but it is for us about our survival as we have this enormous cash problem in front of us,” de Juniac said.
The group’s latest projections are for a worldwide loss of $39 billion in this quarter alone across the industry, versus a profit of $7 billion in the same time frame last year. Last week, it predicted $252 billion in industry-wide losses due to the coronavirus.
France gives 4 billion Euros to public health agency for masks and ventilators
From CNN’s Pierre-Eliott Buet
French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to give 4 billion Euros to Sante Publique France, a public health agency, to purchase masks and ventilators.
Macron, speaking at a mask production factory in Saint Barthélemy d’Anjou, went on to stress the importance of production of masks in France.
He said “our priority is to produce more in France,” adding that “the aim is by the end of the year we will have achieved full independence” in mask production.
The ramping up of mask production will allow France to raise capacity from 3.3 million masks a week to 15 million by the end of April. France has already placed an order of 1 billion masks from China.
The coronavirus can travel up to 27 ft in the air, according to MIT researcher:
Chris Cuomo, CNN anchor and brother of NY Governor Andrew Cuomo, has been diagnosed with Coronavirus.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/31/media/chris-cuomo-coronavirus/index.html
US health officials will put out new mask recommendations “if the guidance warrants”
From CNN’s Jacqueline Howard
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to monitor data around the coronavirus pandemic and could put out new recommendations on the use of face masks — if the guidance warrants, US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” today.
As of now, Adams said there is not enough data to recommend that the public wear masks.
“There may be a day when we change our recommendations — particularly for areas that have large spread going on about wearing cotton masks — but again, the data’s not there yet,” Adams said. “We’re continuing to follow it. CDC’s looking at it and will put out new recommendations if the guidance warrants.”
Currently, the World Health Organization and CDC both recommend to wear masks only if you are sick or are caring for someone who is sick.
“What the World Health Organization and the CDC have reaffirmed in the last few days is that they do not recommend the general public wear masks. Here’s why: On an individual level, there was a study in 2015 looking at medical students – and medical students wearing surgical masks touch their face on average 23 times,” Adams said.
Earlier this month, Adams urged Americans to stop buying masks, tweeting “They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!”
Today, Adams reiterated that masks need to be saved for health care workers.
When it was brought up that masks are widely used in China, Adams responded, “They have a culture there of wearing masks and everyone already has one and they’re more accustomed to wearing them without touching their faces.”
“We know a major way that you can get respiratory diseases like coronaviruses is by touching a surface and then touching your face,” Adams added. “So wearing a mask improperly can actually increase your risk of getting disease.”
Panama’s president announces separate quarantine days for men and women
From CNN’s Jack Guy
Panama’s President Nito Cortizo has announced that men and women will only be able to leave their homes on separate days as part of the country’s measures to fight coronavirus.
The new restrictions mean women can go outside on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while men will be allowed out on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, Cortizo posted on Twitter on Monday.
“On Sundays, everyone will have to stay at home,” he added.
China to begin reporting asymptomatic cases in its daily tally
From CNN’s Steven Jiang in Beijing
Chinese health authorities will include asymptomatic cases of the novel coronavirus in their official count starting Wednesday, according to an announcement on Tuesday.
The move comes amid growing public concern over asymptomatic cases, of which 1,541 were under medical observation in China by the end of Monday, according to the National Health Commission (NHC). This includes including 205 cases imported from overseas.
Officials will also further tighten screening and quarantine rules targeting asymptomatic cases – defined as people who have tested positive for the virus without displaying any symptoms – said Chang Jile, a senior official with the NHC, at a press conference in Wuhan.
Until now, asymptomatic cases have not been counted as confirmed cases under Chinese government guidelines.
Asymptomatic cases – as well as their close contacts – will be isolated for 14 days immediately upon discovery.
Their quarantine will only be lifted after they twice test negative for coronavirus, in tests administered 24 hours apart. If they develop symptoms during isolation, they will become confirmed cases and undergo treatment at designated hospitals.
On Monday, a taskforce on the virus chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, the country’s deputy leader, urged “placing priority on asymptomatic cases, from detection, contact tracing, to isolation and treatment, in order to lock in previous gains and plug potential loopholes in the containment,” according to a government statement.
A woman in Henan province in central China was infected with the deadly virus last week after coming in contact with a friend, a local doctor who was later identified as an asymptomatic case.
As the Chinese government prepares to lift lockdown measures at the original epicenter of the pandemic, the Henan story has stirred intense interest and anxiety over how infectious asymptomatic carriers are, and whether the authorities have been transparent enough in reporting such cases.
^That’s what he gets for making fun of his brother!
Central African Republic has just three ventilators to deal with Covid-19
From CNN’s Vasco Cotovio in London
The Central African Republic (CAR) has only three ventilators for a population of five million, leaving the country facing a difficult battle against coronavirus, the Norwegian Refugee Council said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Three ventilators in a country of five million people is setting the country up for catastrophe,” said David Manan, Norwegian Refugee Council Country Director in the CAR, in the statement.
“Covid-19 has the potential to tear through the Central African Republic at lightning speed if the country doesn’t get the support it needs to adequately protect itself against the virus."
CAR has had six cases of the virus diagnosed so far, all of which were imported, but there is a concern that the virus may have been spreading undetected due to a lack of tests in the country.
“When rich nations are in panic mode, stating that thousands of ventilators will not be enough, it just brings to light how poorer nations like the Central African Republic don’t stand a chance in the fight against Covid-19,” added Manan.
Twelve-year-old girl dies from coronavirus in Belgium
From CNN’s Stephanie Halasz
A 12-year-old girl has died from the coronavirus in Belgium, a spokeswoman for the Belgian Health ministry told CNN.
The spokeswoman said the unnamed girl died on Monday; she refused to provide any further details in order to respect the privacy of the family.
Emmanuel André, the Belgian government’s spokesperson for the fight against coronavirus, was visibly moved when he spoke to Belgian TV about the case.
“This is an emotionally difficult moment because it affects a child and it also affects the medical and scientific community,” he said. "We are especially thinking of her family and loved ones.”
It is a “very rare event that upsets us,” said André.
Do you need to wear a mask? Growing number of health experts argue people should cover up
From CNN Health’s Jacqueline Howard
As people around the world do their bit to help stop the spread of coronavirus – by social distancing, working from home, or other means – one question looms large: Should we be wearing masks when we do go out?
The World Health Organization on Monday stood by its recommendation that you only need to wear a mask if you are sick or caring for someone else who is sick.
But a growing number of other health experts argue that people should wear masks to help prevent the spread of the virus.
“We are not going to be wearing masks forever, but it could be for a short period of time after we get back into gear. I could see something like that happening for a period of time,” said President Donald Trump, during Monday’s White House briefing.
A source close to the coronavirus task force told CNN the idea of asking Americans to wear masks for a period of time during the pandemic was likely to be under serious discussion.
And the Washington Post reports that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is seriously considering changing its guidelines when it comes to mask use by the general public.
Tom Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, wrote in a Twitter thread Sunday that “members of the general public should wear non-medical fabric masks when going out in public in one additional societal effort to slow the spread of the virus down.”
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, also wrote in a Twitter post Sunday that a recommendation from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “for consumers to wear cotton masks (with guidelines on how to fashion these products from household items) can improve safety and reduce spread and not strain the hospital supply chain.”
WHO and CDC experts have long argued that people who are not sick, nor caring for someone who is sick, should leave masks in the medical supply chain for healthcare workers who need them most.
The US CDC currently recommends that if you are not sick, “you do not need to wear a facemask unless you are caring for someone who is sick.” Yet in China, where the pandemic began, the Chinese CDC has recommended that people “wear a mask when going out.”
Some experts who have made the argument for people to wear masks have pointed to past research showing their effectiveness against the spread of influenza, and to early research on Covid-19.
A study published in the Journal of Hospital Infection in 2013 found that surgical masks could help reduce exposure to infectious influenza virus in the air.
Preliminary data on how the virus shed from 13 Covid-19 patients at the University of Nebraska Medical Center supports “the use of airborne isolation precautions,” such as masks. That early data currently is not published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Taiwan calls on the WHO to include it in expert meetings
From CNN’s Eric Cheung in Hong Kong
Taiwan wants to be included in World Health Organization expert meetings.
In a news conference Tuesday, the spokeswoman for the island’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Joanna Ou, called on the WHO to make the change.
Self-governing, democratic Taiwan is not a member of the WHO, and only around a dozen nations recognize it as an independent state. China’s leadership refuses to maintain diplomatic ties with any country that recognizes Taiwan, which it sees as part of China.
Taiwan has been praised for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, and only has 306 confirmed cases, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University.
Despite that, the WHO has not shared the information provided by Taiwan with the international community, according to Ou.
Countries were therefore unable to understand Taiwan’s epidemic situation, its preventive policies and its border quarantine measures, she said.
“So what the WHO said in its statement that it is learning from all regions, including Taiwan, to share ‘best practices’ with the world, differs from the facts, because they haven’t at all shared with other countries the information provided by Taiwan,” Ou said at the press conference.
"This shows that the WHO still have political considerations when dealing with participation in technical expert meetings.
Ou also noted that the WHO includes Taiwan under China in its epidemic report, adding: “we have already expressed our severe protest regarding this.”
Recent questions: Ou’s words follow a recent interview, in which a WHO representative appeared to evade questions about Taiwan while speaking to a reporter from Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK.
In response, the WHO put out a statement, saying:
“The question of Taiwanese membership in WHO is up to WHO Member States, not WHO staff. However, WHO is working closely with all health authorities who are facing the current coronavirus pandemic, including Taiwanese health experts.”
Over the past year, deal activity has slowed so much that it’s come to be known as the “capital winter.” Disruption from the coronavirus pandemic is prolonging the problem
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This German town is making it mandatory to wear a mask in some places
CNN
The German city of Jena is to make wearing a mask mandatory in some places, amid fears about the spread of coronavirus.
In a statement posted on its website Monday, Jena’s city hall said that in a week’s time it would be mandatory to wear mouth-and-nose protection in shops, on public transport and in public buildings there.
The measure was requested by the health service, according to the statement. In addition to masks, scarves are also considered protection.
The mask rule does not apply across Germany as a whole.
Jena, in the Eastern state of Thuringia, says it has 119 coronavirus cases in its population of approximately 108,000 people.
Germany has at least 66,885 cases of coronavirus, according to data collated by Johns Hopkins University.
China’s health minister called his US counterpart and pledged to work together to fight coronavirus
From Eric Cheung in Hong Kong
China is willing to work with the United States in the fight against coronavirus, the country’s health minister Ma Xiaowei said during a phone conversation with US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar on Monday.
During the call, Ma said China has exercised “openness, transparency, and responsibility” in combating the novel coronavirus outbreak, according to a news release by China’s National Health Commission.
He added that China is willing to share its experiences with the US.
According to the statement, Azar praised China for having achieved great success in combating the novel coronavirus, and agreed to work with China to protect public health around the world.
In Australia and New Zealand, a large proportion of coronavirus cases are in young people
CNN
In Australia and New Zealand, there’s a high proportion of young people among those diagnosed with coronavirus.
According to Australian government statistics:
21% of confirmed cases are aged 20 to 29
16% of cases are aged 30 to 39
31% of cases are 60 or older
In New Zealand:
26% of confirmed cases are aged 20 to 29
14% of cases are aged 30 to 39
21% of cases are 60 or older
For comparison, a report issued by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that analyzed the cases of 2,500 patients in the US whose ages were known, found that:
29% were aged 20 to 44
18% were aged 55 to 64
25% were aged 65 to 84
So why is there a high proportion of cases among younger people in Australia and New Zealand?
One reason could be travel. In both New Zealand and Australia, the vast majority of cases are connected with overseas travel or links to known cases, meaning there is limited transmission in the community. Professor Peter Collignon, an infectious disease expert from the Australian National University, said the Australian data was a reflection of the demographics engaging in overseas travel, according to a report in The Guardian.
Team of Chinese disease control specialists arrives in Venezuela
From CNN’s Taylor Barnes and Hira Humayun in Atlanta, and Max Ramsay in London
A team of eight Chinese health specialists has arrived in Venezuela to help the country in its fight against coronavirus, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced on Monday.
The Venezuelan foreign ministry said that a shipment of medical supplies also arrived from China.
Venezuela has at least 135 confirmed coronavirus cases.
The South American country isn’t the only one to purchase medical equipment from Beijing. Last week, the Spanish health minister said Spain had bought $467 million worth of medical supplies from China.
New York governor says 78,000 retired health care workers offered to come back to work
CNN
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today that after the state put out the word that it needed more health care workers, 78,000 retirees “said they would help.”
He said that one problem the state is facing currently is that health care workers are “working too much” and facing “immense physical and emotional stress.”
The governor confirmed that the state is launching a portal today to start dispatching those that are offering their services and “link them up with a hospital.”
More than 3,000 retired Georgia nurses have asked to come back to work, association says
From CNN’s Pamela Kirkland
The state of Georgia is seeing thousands of retired nurses and volunteers asking how they can step up to help the state as more and more Covid-19 cases are confirmed.
The state is currently facing a nursing shortage. Last year, prior to the outbreak, the state Department of Health warned the shortage had reached crisis levels.
“There were about 10,000 [nursing professionals] a day that were retiring (nationally),” Richard Lamphier, president of the Georgia Nurses Association told CNN by phone. “As of right now, with nurses coming back to the bedside from retirement and also nurses that may have worked in nonclinical roles, those nurses will be activated to come back to take care of patients as well.”
Lamphier estimated between 3,000 and 3,500 retired nurses in Georgia have asked to get back into the nursing profession.
“More so than ever, the ER is in need of nurses,” Erica Mills tells CNN.
Mills has been a nurse for over 16 years. She’s currently on the board of the Georgia Nurses Association and works in administration at Grady Hospital in Atlanta.
“Generally, there’s never enough nurses,” Mills said. “We are still in a nursing shortage. Very much so.”
Lamphier says some area hospitals are dealing with a nursing shortage by asking them to work additional hours. But in the middle of a pandemic, that require “creative staffing” decisions to make sure additional hours don’t mean additional risk of contracting Covid-19.
“Instead of working, say in the front line ICU or emergency room, maybe they can work an additional shift and another floor to allow that area some relief and then rotate in different areas,” he said.
Even so, Mills says many nurse are still anxious about exposure — especially as they’re being asked to reuse personal protective equipment.
“They’re saying, ‘Oh, you’ve got to reuse equipment.’ You can now wear protective gear in the hallways and things like that. Those were always infection prevention type of measures that we took. We didn’t wear gloves or masks or gowns or anything in the hallway. Well now it’s almost abnormal to see someone walking around without that on,” Mills said.
The Georgia Department of Public Health is also trying to help by putting out a call for medical volunteers. The department told CNN in a statement, “There has been a significant influx in March with nearly 800 new volunteers answering the call.”
The article is sensational. Read on down. It dispute the finding. Well, it doesn’t dispute it can travel 27’ but that it won’t be effective in infecting people.
A professor at the U of Washington opined that if aerosolized infection is responsible in a meaningful way for the spread, we would a be a lot sicker.