Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #57

[Cool Cats]

May 21, 2020


TSA updates airport screening measures amid coronavirus: Face masks, food out of carry-ons, more

Boarding passes: Travelers should place their boarding pass on the boarding pass reader themselves as opposed to handing it to a TSA officer. Then, travelers are expected to hold up their pass so an officer can inspect it without needing to touch it.

Food: Place carry-on food items into a clear plastic bag and place that bag into a bin for X-ray screenings.

• Social distancing: Keep an increased distance between people "without compromising security." Visual reminders about appropriate spacing are also placed on checkpoint floors.
• Face masks: TSA officers are using face masks, and it is encouraged that travelers do so, too.
• Safety measures that are already put in place include:
• Reduced security lane usage.
• Some TSA officers wearing eye protection.
• TSA officers changing gloves after each pat-down.
• Plastic shielding at many podiums and counters.
• Routine cleaning of frequently touched surfaces.

Despite calls for temperature-checking measures at airports, neither the TSA nor the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has indicated any plans to take on that responsibility or when it might start.

 

[tresir2012]

AP PHOTOS: Quarantine and a bracelet for Hong Kong returnees

AP PHOTOS: Quarantine and a bracelet for Hong Kong returnees

1 day ago
...
Hong Kong issued quarantine wristbands to monitor returning residents of the city while they serve their mandatory 14-day quarantine, in a bid to curb local transmissions of COVID-19 during the pandemic. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
...

That sound like a good idea. Is that like criminals wear?

 

[tmar]

Scott Morrison’s secret plan to save Australia from economic ruin

Scott Morrison’s secret plan to save Australia from economic ruin

Sky News Australia
16 hrs ago

A leaked draft of the National COVID-19 Commission manufacturing report has detailed the key industries Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been advised to target “immediately” to unlock billions of dollars save Australia from economic ruin.

The interim taskforce report – obtained by Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell - reveals the gas and manufacturing industries will be the Coalition’s major focus.

“We need to be decisive and begin immediately to create an Australian gas market that delivers globally competitive results,” the report said.

 

[pocketaccent]

my dentist cancelled my cleaning next week

My dentist sent an email this morning. His office is open now.

-His office will communicate on the phone to ask some screening questions, then ask those same questions again in the office.
-We must use hand sanitizer upon entering the office.
-There will be no Magazines or toys in the waiting room.
-Appoints will be staggered to allow social distancing.

I don't plan to go in for cleaning any time soon but am thankful he is open just in case of emergency.

 

[TMAN2014]

So how is my dentist going to clean my teeth, when I have to wear my mask!??!

 

[tmar]

Iran says 10,000 of its health workers infected with coronavirus

Iran says 10,000 of its health workers infected with coronavirus

7 hrs ago
...
DUBAI (Reuters) - Around 10,000 Iranian health workers have been infected with the new coronavirus, the semi-official ILNA news agency quoted the deputy health minister as saying on Thursday.
...
"Around 10,000 health workers have been infected with the deadly disease in Iran and some of them have died," Qassem Janbabai said, according to ILNA.
...

 

[CharlestonGal]

I do believe synthetic antibodies will be the solution to CoVid. My colleagues keep sending me articles about them. They're called monoclonal antibodies and can be synthesized in a CRISPR machine. This technology is already in use for offbeat diseases, but is, IMO, the most promising method for treating CoVId. I would get them in a heartbeat.

They are biochemically identical to the antibodies in human plasma, but without the issues of having to derive them from plasma and without needing tons and tons of donors.

Many diseases are already treated with MABs (RA, MS, Lupus, Crohn's, UC, psoriasis, transplant rejection). They all come with a long list of side effects, some minor, some serious. Also a problem is that MABs may interfere with vaccine efficacy.

Even given all that, I think it's a promising avenue of research.

 

[tresir2012]

Because we humans can’t be trusted. I don’t know about you guys but I see people wearing masks not covering their noses, regularly. I see people touching their faces after touching surfaces. I see people break social distancing rules daily. People make mistakes. I know I have.

We are fallible yes. So why do people think kids wearing masks will work any better. Much better to accept the reality. The lockdown of care homes failed miserably and it was not due to the relatives not being trusted to keep masks on or to social distance. It failed for other reasons that have not fully been explained yet.

 

[LadyL]

France recorded 70 new coronavirus cases in schools, a week after it let more than 1 million kids go back to class

 

[Sundog]

The reasons are pretty clear to me.

Well they aren't clear to Dr. Tony Fauci, as he is heading up a clinical trial at the NIH with hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin.

 

[BUF]

France recorded 70 new coronavirus cases in schools, a week after it let more than 1 million kids go back to class

Did you notice masks “and” face shields on the children in the photo?

 

[LadyL]

Fire dept.: Don’t leave hand sanitizer in your car on a warm day

 

[gitana1]

PreP compounds are antivirals, yes. They were developed to specifically to target retroviruses. As SARS-COV2 is not a retrovirus, no one knows yet if antiretroviral meds will work on RNA viruses. On the other hand, strangely enough, antiretrovirals used for HIV appear to be effective in hepatitis B (a DNA virus) control in co-infected patients. Another consideration is that PreP must be taken every single day along with periodic evaluation for renal toxicity. Even if it works I'm not sure how practical PreP would be on a large scale.

On top of that, the adoption of large scale usage of PreP would no doubt create serious supply issues for patients currently on PreP treatment.

The treatment of viruses is notoriously difficult and, in my personal opinion, we should tread very, very carefully in how we approach a completely novel virus in a population that is 100% naive.

Thanks for that. I’m thinking of short term solutions for high risk persons. But it’s easy to see how quickly something can spiral out of control.

 

[LadyL]

Did you notice masks and face shields on the children in the photo?

I did.

 

[LadyL]

Suns out!! Feeing much better and special thanks to @CSIDreamer , @zecats (so glad you shared), @The Night Watchman and @Lady L. Listened and took advice, doggo will be welcomed (because he’s an adorable foxdingo lol) all the places

This whole situation is hitting me like the grief I experienced after son passed suddenly a few years ago. In waves. I probably need more breaks from the bad news articles and learn not to be so depressed, angry and cranky on those days.

Anyway thank you all for being here and engaging in rational discussion and up to the minute news. You give me hope for the future.

aww that is fantastic news
happy for you!
if you ever need a shoulder, I am a parent with a child in heaven so I understand

 

[tmar]

Chinese newspaper warns 'China has the power to hurt the Aussie economy'

Chinese newspaper warns 'China has the power to hurt the Aussie economy'

Sky News Australia
17 hrs ago
...
Chinese propaganda outlet The Global Times has declared “China has the power to hurt the Aussie economy” as it warned any attempt to “confuse malicious COVID-19 inquiries with trade would only exacerbate the tensions”.

“China has the power to hurt the Aussie economy but won't fire the first shot in a trade war,” the publication wrote.
...
The Global Times editorial also hit out at Australia for taking credit for the inquiry into the origins of COVID-19.

China claims the World Health Assembly resolution spearheaded by Australia was different to what Prime Minister Scott Morrison previously called for.

“If China wanted to start a trade war with Australia, it wouldn't use a measure of this degree.

“In view of past experience, China won't be the one to take the first provocative step, but it should be noted that any further attempt to confuse malicious COVID-19 inquiries with trade would only exacerbate the tensions, driving bilateral trade off track.”
...
Perth USAsia Centre CEO Professor Gordan Flake has warned against reading too much into the editorial which “tend to be a harbinger of what the actual Chinese positions are but don’t line up entirely in that process”.

He told Sky News “it is tempting to kind of look at this in a bubble and think that somehow we are the only country right now being targeted by China whereas - a whole range of other counties are facing similar responses”.

“This is really more about changes internally in China than it is about us and yet our tendencies is to interpret it entirely in our own domestic context,” he said.

 

[TMAN2014]

That's some seriously childish behavior. Good grief.

Well hey, the press takes their shots too. If they treated me like that, I would tell them to pound sand too.

 

[tmar]

UK official coronavirus death toll up 338 to over 36,000 with one victim just 14

UK official coronavirus death toll up 338 to over 36,000 with one victim just 14

Dave Burke
6 hrs ago
...
The number of Covid-19 patients to die in the UK is has passed 36,000 after a further 338 fatalities were reported.

Of these, 233 happened in hospitals, with the overall number of deaths now reaching 36,042.

Health authorities have confirmed there were 187 deaths in hospitals in England, nine in Wales, seven in Northern Ireland and 37 in Scotland linked to the virus.

A 14-year-old with underlying health conditions was among those who died in England, the heartbreaking data reveals.

 

[tresir2012]

Good to hear that Cody.

Schools info below.

Scientists divided over coronavirus risk to children if schools reopen

"Dr Alasdair Munro, a paediatric infectious disease expert at University Hospital Southampton, also favours an early return to school. To support the idea, he highlighted a key study carried out in the Italian town of Vò, where there was a major Covid-19 outbreak in February.

“The authorities tested more than 80% of the population and found 2.8% were positive to the coronavirus. Crucially, not one child under 10 was found to have been infected, and that remained the case when testing was repeated two weeks later. Yet quite a number of children were living in households with infected people.”

Other studies in Iceland, Norway and South Korea have also found very low rates of infected children in communities. However, these findings contrast with last week’s Office of National Statistics’ disclosure that in its testing of 10,000 individuals in the UK, it found “no evidence” of differences between age groups in the proportions of those testing positive. “That has thrown a bit of a spanner into the works,” admitted Munro.

In addition, there is the question of the amount of virus that a child might carry, which would indicate how easily he or she could go on to infect others. If children have lower viral loads than those typically carried by an adult, children would pose less of a risk in boosting infections rate."

More opinions at link.

bumping for @gitana1

 

[CSIDreamer]

Well hey, the press takes their shots too. If they treated me like that, I would tell them to pound sand too.

Me too.