Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #51

[Sundog]

Today we went for a long drive, just to get out of the house and spend time together in a different setting (the car). We drove past a number of new housing developments with some new homes under construction, and we wondered about the people who put money down for these homes, and if they will have to just walk away, if they lost their jobs or anticipate that as a real possibility over the weeks ahead. Neighborhoods with new homes being built with mostly young families, a real housing boom just months ago, and now it must be a scary thing to go forward with the purchase, with so many unknowns in the economy and workplace.

 

[katydid23]

As they say, the key is testing and most places are still not in a great place with that.

I think there has been a big increase in available tests in the past week or two.

We have drive up testing in Southern cali now.

It's becoming easier to get a coronavirus test in California ...
www.latimes.com › california › story › coronavirus-test...3 days ago - Beginning Thursday, all critical workers in Los Angeles, including those without symptoms, can get tested for the virus, Mayor Eric Garcetti said ...



Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing: What you should know | UC Davis Health
Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing: What you should know
Updated April 24, 2020
Is there a test for novel coronavirus?

Yes, there is a COVID-19 test. It is becoming more widely available as more laboratories, both public and commercial, become certified. According to the California Department of Public Health, COVID-19 testing is now being done in commercial, private and academic labs, including Quest, LabCorp, Kaiser, the University of California and Stanford, and the 22 state and county health labs currently testing.

UC Davis Health has greatly expanded testing capabilities on-site, having developed and validated our own accurate COVID-19 test. We are doing this in full collaboration with Sacramento County Public Health and other public health agencies in order to take the pressure off other testing labs.
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My family in Northern California was able to get 2 older family members tested last week without a lot of hassle.

My husband's family in Boston area was able to get their pregnant niece tested, even though she had no symptoms, just because she was concerned about her baby.

I think there has been an increase in testing availability, from what I am hearing and reading.

 

[margarita25]

Could this team may be part of that WHO effort? dunno? ... btw.. did you see my ETA I just added to my post above?

Very well could be.

(Yes, I saw your eta.
Did you see my eta? Lol)

 

[Deleted member 158085]

I think there has been a big increase in available tests in the past week or two.

We have drive up testing in Southern cali now.

It's becoming easier to get a coronavirus test in California ...
www.latimes.com › california › story › coronavirus-test...3 days ago - Beginning Thursday, all critical workers in Los Angeles, including those without symptoms, can get tested for the virus, Mayor Eric Garcetti said ...



Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing: What you should know | UC Davis Health
Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing: What you should know
Updated April 24, 2020
Is there a test for novel coronavirus?

Yes, there is a COVID-19 test. It is becoming more widely available as more laboratories, both public and commercial, become certified. According to the California Department of Public Health, COVID-19 testing is now being done in commercial, private and academic labs, including Quest, LabCorp, Kaiser, the University of California and Stanford, and the 22 state and county health labs currently testing.

UC Davis Health has greatly expanded testing capabilities on-site, having developed and validated our own accurate COVID-19 test. We are doing this in full collaboration with Sacramento County Public Health and other public health agencies in order to take the pressure off other testing labs.
----------------------------------------------------------


My family in Northern California was able to get 2 older family members tested last week without a lot of hassle.

My husband's family in Boston area was able to get their pregnant niece tested, even though she had no symptoms, just because she was concerned about her baby.

I think there has been an increase in testing availability, from what I am hearing and reading.

We’re still not where we need to be.

Why America’s coronavirus testing problem is still so difficult to solve

“We need to significantly ramp up not only the number of tests, but the capacity to perform them, so that you don’t have a situation where you have a test but it can’t be done because there isn’t a swab, or because there isn’t extraction media, or not the right vial,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Time in late April. “I am not overly confident right now at all that we have what it takes to do that. We are doing better, and I think we are going to get there, but we are not there yet.”

 

[Snoods]

There are countless cases of re-arrests of early release prisoners. Vulnerable released prisoners have included murderers, car jackers, child rapists, rapists, and child abusers. I have linked them here several times. Not all of the released inmates are prisoners with a few days left on their sentences. Many are repeat, violent offenders. Do we really believe all the prisoners who were released after a pinky promise with a judge are going to turn themselves back in?

In Houston, we failed to monitor the early release of 12 prisoners. How are we to manage a sudden influx of 1,000 or more? Prisons are releasing thousands of prisoners at one time who have a slim chance of getting a job, no money, and most likely no place to stay. There aren’t enough shelters to take in an influx of 1,000-5,000 or more suddenly released inmates.

On April 3rd, Houston, Texas released 12 medically vulnerable prisoners due to coronavirus fears. Of the 12, two have been rearrested.

Timothy Singleton, 31, was re-arrested after he allegedly broke into his ex-girlfriend’s house and beat up her and her grandmother, also stealing her cell phone.

Timothy Singleton’s early release greatly impacted the lives of two innocent people.

Timothy Singleton was not wearing his ankle monitor when he was arrested, court records show. He also allegedly told officers it came off when he was jumping a fence, so he left it.

21 year old Quaran Pope’s early release has greatly impacted the lives of at least four people.

Quaran Pope, 21, was one of a dozen people accused of non-violent crimes with non-violent histories who were released April 3rd. On Wednesday night, he was back in jail, charged with a car break-in and stealing IDs and bank account numbers from three people. These are crimes for which he's previously been convicted.

Man let out of jail for $50 accused of beating his ex and her grandma

California

San Bernardino, CA Sheriff forced to release repeat felony child abuse suspect immediately after his arrest, due to California’s emergency Covid-19 no bail mandate for misdemeanors and low level offenders. Child abusers are eligible for no bail immediate release.

San Bernardino County Sheriff is blasting California’s new $0 cash bail emergency mandate after he says he was forced to release a repeat felony child abuse suspect immediately after his arrest, and will have to release hundreds of potentially dangerous criminals back into the public under the new rules.

Child abusers eligible for immediate release under California’s new $0 cash bail emergency mandate

37 minutes after Rocky Music, 32, was arrested on suspicion of car theft and immediately released with no bail due to California’s emergency Covid-19 no bail mandate, he was arrested for misdemeanor obstruction of a police officer, as well as felony carjacking and harm to a police officer’s dog.

East Bay car theft suspect's carjackings set jail speed record

James Mitchell Correa, 25, of San Jose, CA had been charged with stealing a car, resisting arrest and violating his parole. He was quickly released. Days later he was arrested after hitting a person over the head with a hammer and carjacking someone else.

San Jose Man Arrested For Carjacking Immediately After Jail Release | KFI AM 640

In Redding, California, police officers re-arrested 31-year-old Anthony Parks on April 18 after he allegedly tried to force his way into a residence just five days after getting out of a state prison as a result of coronavirus concerns.

The man who was arrested had just been released from California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) custody just five days prior to this incident, after he was one of approximately 50 inmates who were released to Shasta County from the state prison system as a “protective measure” to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus within the state prison system, according to Redding Police Department

Released from prison 5 days earlier due to COVID-19, man re-arrested


Changes in policing include making fewer arrests.

To help slow the spread of the virus, police chiefs are directing their officers not to arrest people for minor offenses and instead cite and release them.

[URL="https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-pandemic-changes-policing-including-fewer-arrests-11585301402"]Coronavirus Pandemic Changes Policing, Including Fewer Arrests[/URL]

 

[SoCalDavidS]

I'm not sure where all this confidence about the U.S. having enough tests is coming from. That's not what I've been hearing. We are as woefully unprepared with the tests as we were and are with the PPE.

I am fortunate in that I will be able to work from home as long as is necessary. I do go into my office a couple of times a week, but I have largely stayed at home. All of these businesses may start opening again eventually here in CA, but I will likely not be patronizing them for a long time to come.

 

[SouthAussie]

We’re still not where we need to be.

Why America’s coronavirus testing problem is still so difficult to solve

“We need to significantly ramp up not only the number of tests, but the capacity to perform them, so that you don’t have a situation where you have a test but it can’t be done because there isn’t a swab, or because there isn’t extraction media, or not the right vial,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Time in late April. “I am not overly confident right now at all that we have what it takes to do that. We are doing better, and I think we are going to get there, but we are not there yet.”

Yes. Harvard experts are saying ....


The United States is now testing an average of 150,000 people per day, the tracking project estimates. To reopen the country by mid-May and keep outbreaks from roaring back, Harvard University public health experts estimate the nation should be doing 500,000 to 700,000 tests a day.
Coronavirus testing is key to reopening society. Here’s why U.S. capacity is still inadequate.

 

[SoCalDavidS]

Sunday 26 April, Global update and testing analysis

Dr. Campbell is Great!

 

[margarita25]

Colorado:

Polis issues 'Safer at Home' executive order
Apr 26

“DENVER — Governor Jared Polis (D-Colorado) issued an executive order on his "Safer at Home" plan to loosen restrictions that were put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.”

[...]

““Together, Coloradans have been effective in leveling and flattening the curve, but life will remain much more dangerous than usual these next few months and we should all wear masks when in public. Safer at Home is by no means a free-for-all. My administration has acted boldly in the face of this pandemic and is focused on ensuring our state can endure on the trail ahead. We all have a personal responsibility to slow the spread of the virus and must find a way of living that is psychologically and economically sustainable for Coloradans,” Polis said in the release.
The release said Coloradans should continue staying home as much as possible, and that the order directs vulnerable populations, including seniors, to continue staying home, only leaving when absolutely necessary.”

—-

“Colorado’s largest organization of physicians joined other groups Saturday in expressing concerns about whether doctors and the public are prepared for state coronavirus restrictions to loosen.

Elective surgeries and medical and dental offices can reopen on Monday. But Colorado’s medical community is concerned that there may be an expectation for the healthcare field to return to normal right away.”

[...]

“Patients should be aware that just because elective procedures are allowed, not all medical offices are prepared to perform those procedures with adequate personal protective equipment, or PPE, like masks, gloves and gowns. Markenson said PPE availability varies from community to community across the state.

In a letter signed by the Colorado Medical Society and other medical groups, they expressed concerns about health care workers and the impact the safer-at-home phase could have on the state. They said the progress the state has made while in its stay-at-home order is at-risk if the state doesn’t take further precautions.”

[...]

“Polis has said additional tests are on the way to Colorado, but has not revealed a plan to greatly expand testing.”

Physicians Worry Colorado Isn’t Ready To Ease Coronavirus Restrictions
Apr 25

—-

“Polis’ loosening of restrictions doesn’t apply in Denver, Adams, Arapahoe, Jefferson and Boulder counties, where local authorities have extended stay-home orders through May 8.”

Coronavirus: Colorado retailers can open for curbside pickup Monday, new executive order says as stay-at-home expires

 

[margarita25]

Papers are starting to come out with evaluations of the antibodies tests, and a multidisciplinary team of researchers and physicians at UCSF, UC Berkeley, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, and Innovative Genomics Institute has put out a manuscript and set up a website for future studies at COVID-19 Testing Project . Last I heard, there were about 140 on the market. MOO

Dropbox - SARS-CoV-2_Serology_Manuscript.pdf - Simplify your life

Our data demonstrate specificity greater than 95% for the majority of tests evaluated and >99% for 2 LFAs (Wondfo, Sure Biotech)

View attachment 244592

ETA: And food for thought.... just saw this as it relates to studies showing rates of seropositives in differing places....

Michael Lin, PhD-MD @michaelzlin
·And now U Miami is stepping on the same low-specificity landmine.
They just claimed 6% of Miami-Dade county has COVID19 antibodies (https://miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article242260406.html). Sorry to break this to you but the Biomedomics test you used (https://cbsloc.al/3aO40gl#.XqPNveHnyfw.twitter) has 13% (!!!) false-positives.

Also, iirc it’s the “Solidarity 2” WHO project which is studying serology and antibodies if I’m not mistaken (eta: and will be interesting to keep an eye on, @dixiegirl1035. )

ETA / Apr 2:
‘These are answers we need.’ WHO plans global study to discover true extent of coronavirus infections | Science | AAAS

“In an effort to understand how many people have been infected with the new coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) is planning a coordinated study to test blood samples for the presence of antibodies to the virus. Called Solidarity II, the program, which will involve more than half a dozen countries around the globe, will launch in the coming days, says Maria Van Kerkhove, who is helping coordinate WHO’s COVID-19 response.”

ETA2 : Additionally re: Solidarity II / Qmfr:

Apr 15 / WHO / source

“Helen Braswell: (40:22)
I was hoping maybe Maria or Mike could give us some information about serology testing. I know that a number of countries have been starting to do this work. Is there any picture yet of how good the serology tests are, how reliable they are, and what is being seen in the testing that has been done to date?

So, hi Helen. Yeah, I will start with this and perhaps Mike would like to add. So yes, we are working with a number of countries across the globe on looking at the use of serologic testing for COVID-19. So as you know there are a large number of rapid tests that are available now commercially to purchase and we’re working with FIND and we’re working with labs that have experienced with coronaviruses to look at validation of those with well-characterized Sera. It’s important for us to be able to evaluate how these actually work with clinical samples. So, that is a process that is ongoing.

There are a number of countries right now that are conducting serologic studies, which are looking either at stored samples that were collected throughout this pandemic for other clinical reasons, blood bank, blood donations, or are doing these studies prospectively. Today we had a teleconference with 160 groups, 160 people, who are working with us on our early investigations, which we’re calling the unity studies now. These are early epidemiologic investigations that focus on cases and contacts, that focus on healthcare workers, that’s a separate protocol, a separate protocol for household transmission, and a fourth protocol looking at age, population based sera surveys.

We had a call with them today to see where they are. We have more than 40 countries who are utilizing these core protocols in their own countries, and we’re starting to see some results from some of them from the molecular testing, not yet from the serology. And they’re asking us what are the tests that we can use. So we’re working very hard to validate those tests so that we can be able to say here are four or five serologic assays that could be used so that we can have a better readout on how they actually work.

In addition to that, we have another serologic solidarity study. It’s called the solidarity two study, which is working to estimate global sera prevalence and the first thing that this study is doing, it’s called solidarity two. It’s working on pulling together a serum panel, a standardized serum panel, across the globe so that they could standardize assays and that they can use one protocol to estimate global sera prevalence. That is a process that is ongoing and we’re hoping that we will get some results from that in the coming months.

Having said that, there are some serologic studies that we’re now starting to see being published. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen full papers of these using full methodology. I’ve seen a study from Denmark, I’ve seen a study from Germany suggesting around at 3.5 to 14% sera prevalence. We need to really understand the methods that were used, the assays that were used in terms of their sensitivity and specificity before we can have a good understanding of what this actually means. But of course these numbers are lower, the sera prevalence in these two studies which is not representative globally are lower than I think what many people were expecting. Certainly lower than what some of the models had predicted.

But we’re working with our partners to understand what all of this means in terms of our understanding of the epidemic waves that may happen with this pandemic virus.

Mike?

Dr. Michael J. Ryan: (43:59)
And just to add Helen, and Maria is there really speaking where sera epidemiologic studies, where the testing is done and validated labs as well. Where the testing is benched on in labs. There is a whole other world of rapid diagnostic test or point of care diagnostics and people are talking very much about can we do the diagnosis at the bedside, either a PCR based or there are new diagnostic tests based on antigen detection. And what they do is they detect the proteins of the virus in the sample. Or rapid diagnostic test based on the antibody that’s developed by the body in response to the virus. And there’s a lot of very important innovation going on in that space, but there are real…

We need to be very, very careful antigen tests the sensitivity of those tests can be low. In other words, they may pick up anything from 30 to 80% of true infections. In other words, you can have people who get a negative test who actually have had the infection. The same with some of the antibody tests.

The important consideration with antibody tests is that many people take up to two weeks or more to develop the antibodies in response to having the infection, so they could actually turn out to be negative on the antibody test but actually have had the infection.

Now, none of those are barriers to introducing these products as part of a comprehensive strategy, but we do need to be careful to ensure that introducing rapid test is done as part of a comprehensive diagnostic strategy, a comprehensive testing strategy, and where governments can have validated tests that they introduce into the system in a way that adds to the control of the virus, that adds to surveillance, that adds to diagnosis and doesn’t cause unnecessary confusion. And many governments around the world are doing that just now.”

Could this team may be part of that WHO effort? dunno? ... btw.. did you see my ETA I just added to my post above?

Let’s look into this further.

UCSF
The Promise and Uncertainties of Antibody Testing for Coronavirus
Apr 23

“Even as scientists at UC San Francisco and across the world rush to develop and validate antibody tests for the novel coronavirus, they are cautious about how the tests should be used. Too much is still unknown about immunity to COVID-19 and the performance of the tests, they say.

We spoke to three UCSF experts – pathologist Alan Wu, PhD; infectious disease specialist Chaz Langelier, MD, PhD; and pathologist Jonathan Esensten, MD, PhD – about how antibody testing works, who it can be most useful for and why we should be cautious.”

—-

Look at this:
UC San Francisco (@UCSF) on Twitter

 

[Curious Me]

COVID-19


MOO, notice the age groups. Younger people may not die as often from Covid-19, but they seem to have caught it more and might have spread it more
in California.

It doesn't break down the deaths by ages though
Doctor sent me this link from the
California Dept. of Public Health
COVID-19

 

[margarita25]

Who gets California workers’ comp benefits for COVID-19? | CalMatters

“Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing intense lobbying from both business and labor as he weighs an executive order that would make it easier for essential workers such as nurses and grocery clerks to get workers’ compensation if they contract COVID-19.

His dilemma: whether to issue an order creating a legal presumption that essential employees were infected with the novel coronavirus at work, rather than in the community — making it easier for them to qualify for benefits. State lawmakers also have introduced two bills that would accomplish something similar, but the legislative proposals differ in their approaches and how many workers would be covered.

(BBM)
California officials and employers are gearing up for a wave of workers’ compensation claims that could top $33 billion as the state’s COVID-19 cases surpass 42,000 and millions of essential workers remain on the job — and at risk.

Already the state had received 1,527 COVID-related claims by April 16, according to a spokesman for California’s Department of Industrial Relations, which oversees workers’ compensation cases.”

 

[Curious Me]

San Diego County 111 Covid Deaths 4/26/2020

Coronavirus in San Diego and California: Latest updates and news


April 26, 2020 more Beach Protesters
Stay-at-home order protests continue in San Diego County

 

[margarita25]

Rsbm
April 26, 2020 more Beach Protesters
Stay-at-home order protests continue in San Diego County

Omg see video Reminds me of the Philadelphia parade in 1918...(that had way more people though packed in for that parade, for war bonds, etc iirc from the documentary.)

What will see re: beach restrictions being lifted as @katydid23 said. What will the numbers be? Open air vs. Scripps report of enhanced transmission near the coast? The outdoor parade of 1918 had disasterous results.

—-

ETA:
Philadelphia Threw a WWI Parade That Gave Thousands of Onlookers the Flu | History | Smithsonian Magazine

“It was a parade like none Philadelphia had ever seen.

In the summer of 1918, as the Great War raged and American doughboys fell on Europe’s killing fields, the City of Brotherly Love organized a grand spectacle. To bolster morale and support the war effort, a procession for the ages brought together marching bands, Boy Scouts, women’s auxiliaries, and uniformed troops to promote Liberty Loans –government bonds issued to pay for the war. The day would be capped off with a concert led by the “March King” himself –John Philip Sousa.

When the Fourth Liberty Loan Drive parade stepped off on September 28, some 200,000 people jammed Broad Street, cheering wildly as the line of marchers stretched for two miles. Floats showcased the latest addition to America’s arsenal – floating biplanes built in Philadelphia’s Navy Yard. Brassy tunes filled the air along a route where spectators were crushed together like sardines in a can. Each time the music stopped, bond salesmen singled out war widows in the crowd, a move designed to evoke sympathy and ensure that Philadelphia met its Liberty Loan quota.

But aggressive Liberty Loan hawkers were far from the greatest threat that day. Lurking among the multitudes was an invisible peril known as influenza—and it loves crowds. Philadelphians were exposed en masse to a lethal contagion widely called “Spanish Flu,” a misnomer created earlier in 1918 when the first published reports of a mysterious epidemic emerged from a wire service in Madrid.

For Philadelphia, the fallout was swift and deadly. Two days after the parade, the city’s public health director Wilmer Krusen, issued a grim pronouncement: “The epidemic is now present in the civilian population and is assuming the type found in naval stations and cantonments [army camps].”

Within 72 hours of the parade, every bed in Philadelphia’s 31 hospitals was filled. In the week ending October 5, some 2,600 people in Philadelphia had died from the flu or its complications. A week later, that number rose to more than 4,500. With many of the city’s health professionals pressed into military service, Philadelphia was unprepared for this deluge of death.”

 

[tresir2012]

20% mortality rate in resolved cases. Is it the right time for people to be uppity about physical distancing?


View attachment 244584

Coronavirus Update (Live): 2,992,639 Cases and 206,883 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer

19% in closed cases but only 3% serious/critical in open cases so I would say it looks hopeful.

 

[tresir2012]

(Reuters) - Mexico has almost entirely cleared out government migrant shelters over the past five weeks to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, returning most of the occupants to their countries of origin, official data showed on Sunday.

In a statement, the National Migration Institute (INM) said that since March 21, in order to comply with health and safety guidelines, it had been removing migrants from its 65 migrant facilities, which harbored 3,759 people last month.

In the intervening weeks, Mexico has returned 3,653 migrants to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador by road and air, with the result that only 106 people remain in the shelters, it said.

Mexico all but empties official migrant shelters under coronavirus

Hmmm. I don't suppose they tested them first.

 

[tresir2012]

Media reports are breaking all over the Netherlands of cases of Human to Animal transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

Coronavirus vastgesteld bij nertsenfokkerijen in Noord-Brabant

Two separate mink farms reported cases of their animals developing breathing and gastrointestinal issues and veterinary experts decided to inform the authorities for further investigations.

The Ministry Of Farming and Agriculture later issued official announcements that the farm animals were indeed infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes the deadly COVID-19 disease.

The Ministry officials confirmed that it was most likely human-animal transmission as some of the workers at the farm had previously tested positive of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

The animal infections were confirmed on Friday by researchers from the laboratory of Wageningen Bioveterinary Research in Lelystad.

The mink farm in Beek en Donk has 7,500 minks and the other in Milheeze has 13,000 animals. Both farms have imposed precautionary measures to prevent further spreading of the virus.

BREAKING! Netherlands Reports Cases Of Human To Animal Transmission Of COVID-19 In Mink Farms - Thailand Medical News

Interesting and worrying at the same time.

 

[tresir2012]

Has there ever been canine to human transmission recorded/confirmed previously with any other (eta: “respiratory”) pathogens, occurring from “zoonotic spillover”?

I’m very skeptical about this theory, but then again I’m just a peon with no medical training.

Me too. Seems to me like they are just looking for a fall guy or fall dog.

 

[margarita25]

Me too. Seems to me like they are just looking for a fall guy or fall dog.

We all want to know the source of the virus is, so I’m about fair investigation.

I doubt it’s “stray dogs” though moo. More like disgusting wet markets IMO.

Jmo

 

[tresir2012]

I meant “respiratory” pathogens occurring via “zoonotic spillover” specifically.

(Added as eta for clarity)

The article mentions dog intestines so the infection would be presumably coming from when these stray dogs are being gutted ready for the table. What do they do with the intestines?