Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #61

[tresir2012]

Clinical and immunological assessment of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections | Nature Medicine

 

[margarita25]

China:

Source of Beijing’s big new COVID-19 outbreak is still a mystery

“Beijing’s confirmation of a COVID-19 case on 11 June ended a run of 55 days without reported local transmission. Since then, the outbreak has burgeoned and the city has responded with fierce determination to rein it in. As of today, it has tested 356,000 people, confirming 137 cases, according to a news report by Xinhua, the state-owned news agency. The city has locked down some residential compounds, closed all schools, and canceled hundreds of flights.

Virtually all of the infections have been linked to a massive wholesale food market that has been temporarily shuttered. The link to the market has triggered comparisons to the seafood market in Wuhan that played a role at the early stages of the pandemic, and speculation that the virus arrived in fish imported from Europe. But the real source of the outbreak is still a mystery.

Beijing reported its last case of local COVID-19 transmission in mid-April. The current outbreak began when a man with no history of recent travel visited a doctor on 10 June with a fever and chills. He tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and was hospitalized the following day. Officials think he or a close contact was infected at the Xinfadi Agricultural Wholesale Market, a massive 112-hectare complex housing 2000 stallsselling produce, seafood, and meat with 10,000 customers and workers visiting daily, according to Xinhua. This led to the massive effort to test market workers, customers, and even residents of nearby neighborhoods.”

[...]

“Genomic sequencing shows the viral variant behind the new outbreak is related to strains China has found in people returning from Europe, according to a China Daily report that quotes Yang Peng, an official with the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control.”

——-

China finds heavy coronavirus traces in seafood, meat sections of Beijing food market

“Among the patients who work at the Xinfadi market, most serve at seafood and aquatic product stalls, followed by the beef and mutton section, and patients from the seafood market showed symptoms earlier than others, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a daily briefing on Thursday.

Low temperatures favorable to viral survival as well as high humidity might be possible explanations for why seafood markets could be a source of outbreaks based on a preliminary assessment, Wu said, cautioning that further investigation was necessary.

China has halted imports from European salmon suppliers this week amid fears they may be linked to the recent outbreak in Beijing.“

——

Peru:
Peru overtakes Italy in total cases of coronavirus

——

Italy:

Roche's Actemra falls short in Italian study in early-stage COVID-19 pneumonia

Italy's hard-hit region nears 'herd immunity' as more than half of people tested show coronavirus antibodies

The Lancet:
Pulmonary post-mortem findings in a series of COVID-19 cases from northern Italy: a two-centre descriptive study

BBC:
Italy prosecutors quiz PM Conte on coronavirus
12 June 2020

—

Brazil:

How Brazil’s uncoordinated approach to COVID-19 gave the country the second-highest death toll in the world

Coronavirus in Brazil: What You Need to Know

Brazil on track to surpass the U.S. in coronavirus deaths this summer

—-

Jupiter researchers say mutated form of coronavirus is better at infecting cells

Mutation of Coronavirus Is Significantly Increasing Its Ability To Infect

A mutation shows why the coronavirus is such a formidable foe (opinion) - CNN

Mutated coronavirus shows significant boost in infectivity | Scripps Research

 

[astheworldfallsdown]

Coronavirus alert level in UK should be downgraded from 4 to 3 - chief medical officers

The alert level for coronavirus across the UK should be downgraded from the current level 4 to level 3.

Chief medical officers for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland say they made the recommendation after reviewing all the evidence.

Level 4 means the virus is in general circulation, and that transmission is high or rising exponentially; level 3 means the epidemic is in general circulation.

In a statement, the UK's chief medical officers said: "There has been a steady decrease in cases we have seen in all four nations, and this continues.

"It does not mean that the pandemic is over. The virus is still in general circulation, and localised outbreaks are likely to occur.

"We have made progress against the virus thanks to the efforts of the public and we need the public to continue to follow the guidelines carefully to ensure this progress continues."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said moving to a lower alert level was "a big moment for the country, and a real testament to the British people's determination to beat this virus".

 

[margarita25]

Texas:

Texas coronavirus hospitalizations surge 11% in a single day

• The number of people sickened with Covid-19 across Texas' hospitals hit a new high Wednesday, surging about 11% in a single day.
• The total Wednesday marks the eighth new high in the state in less than two weeks.
• Texas coronavirus hospitalizations are now up more than 84% since Memorial Day as the state continues to reopen.

[...]

“While the increased hospital occupancy does raise concerns, the state's hospital capacity remains at "the lowest threat level," Abbott said. "We have plenty of room to expand beds, there are thousands of hospital beds that are available as we speak right now," he said.”

___

COVID-19 updates: Dallas, Tarrant counties hit record-highs for patients treated for coronavirus

“Those are up 73% and 95% in the three and a half weeks since Memorial Day.”
__

Houston protesters starting to test positive for COVID-19

—-

Mayors to Texans: 'We cannot afford to ignore the consequences' of COVID-19
The mayors of nine Texas cities, including Houston, penned a letter to all of Texas urging everyone to not let their guard down.

““If we want the economy to open fully and stay open, if we want to send our kids back to school from pre-k to college, if we want to watch and play sports with people in the stands, if we want to attend cultural arts events like concerts and theatre, if we want banquets and parades in the fall, if we want our lives back as Texans, we need to take this seriously,” they wrote.

“Very seriously.””

 

[SA55]

Apologies in advance. I have dropped back in. Sorry.

Where are we now? The CDC has stated the mortality rate of COVID-19 in the first month of the epidemic was 0.27%. When nursing homes homes were overrun by the virus. Nursing home deaths have accounted for over 50% of the 120,000 deaths in the U.S. from COVID-19. But they are not being overrun now. The current mortality rate of COVID-19 is likely now close to the flu at 0.1%, and we will hear about this soon, IMO. If not, call me out on it.

The chance of 0-24 year old person dying of COVID-19 is lower than than the chance of dying in a car crash in their lifetime. Not 10x lower, not 100x lower, not 1000x lower, 3400x lower based on CDC data and the National Safety Council.

3400x.

46 million people out of work.

What are we doing? I am posting a summary that I made to more receptive audience. I do not mean to be disrespectful to your fears, but I hope to provide prospective. And I believe we have been led down a subservient path that I have never seen in my lifetime.

Before my post, a brief synopsis of a section of George Orwell's Animal Farm, which I believe is prophetic.

George Orwell uses the sheep to display how important it was for those in the position of power to ensure that their message would consolidate their own power. The sheep do not have any individuality. They lack names and simply bleat in unison. They are heard on cue from Squealer. Agreement is not necessary in this setting where adherence is the most important element. In repeating the chant of "Two Legs Good, Four Legs Bad," the sheep operate as reminders of Animalism, the philosophy that put the pigs in power. They bleat as a way to emphasize that the leadership of the pigs is in the best interest of all the farm animals.

Over time, the power of the pigs grows. They eventually learn to walk on two legs, mirroring the humans that used to control the farm before the revolution. Teaching the sheep the new chant of "Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better" is another reminder of how the sheep are used to consolidate the pig power over the farm. Once again, the sheep do not question anything they are taught. Their chanting drowns out any other voices.

******

If you are reading this, you are not dead of COVID-19. Good for you. However, I have some bad news, you will die someday. What will you die of?

The current death toll of coronavirus in the U.S. is at 119,000, a seemingly big number. In a country of 330 million people, this is 0.036% of the population dead of COVID-19. Average age is around 80.

Forbes published a list of causes of death, and the chance in percentages that you will die of specific events. The media and politician’s agenda repeatedly tells us that we are at perilous risk of dying of COVID-19. "Flattening the curve" to prevent healthcare overrun has been mysteriously transformed into save every life- at any collateral cost. Stay shut down.

We seemed to have gone along with it, bleating- “Four legs good, two legs better.” The media and the political machine behind the media, are abusing information and using their power to control the masses and spread their message. People were initially scared into flattening the curve, but the curve has been flattened and the virus has been shown to be far less deadly than previously stated. Dissenting opinion on the lockdown measures are drowned out by the sheep- and certainly not allowed on television or in print.

In the list attached, I have added in the chance of dying in the U.S. from coronavirus from March until today- outside of being in a nursing home, to the Forbes data. This may roughly represent your chance of dying of COVID-19 going forward through the rest of 2020, until there is a vaccine. Age demographics from Wikipedia, and COVID-19 death data from the CDC.

The data shows that for Americans that are not in nursing homes, there is a-

5x higher chance of drowning or dying in a fire than of COVID-19
45x higher chance of dying of poisoning than of COVID-19
67x higher chance of dying in a car crash than of COVID-19

The chances of your child aged 0-24 dying at some point in their life from a car crash is 3400x higher than them dying of COVID-19.

Should we stop swimming, and drive less? No, because we accept the inherent risks of life.

Should we keep children out of school and close colleges? Of course not, but it appears likely.

At this point we know that vulnerable people need to lockdown, and not businesses, schools, and working Americans. A temporary lockdown was needed in the populated areas of the northeast, but the curve was flattened long ago.

Open up now. Spread the word. Be the shepherd.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tombarlow/2011/05/10/the-odds-on-how-you-will-die/#1377bfa71be7

View attachment 251705

I always appreciate a different perspective, when offered with stats and in a calm presentation. I hope you're right. From the beginning I've actually prayed I am wrong. Still not convinced and relish life too much to become careless. I'll continue to be super cautious and wait and see.

ETA even if the quoted stats are from 2011 - nothing more recent?

 

[COSCitizen]

This is a transcript of an NPR interview with an infectious disease expert (Michael Osterholm):

Amid Confusion About Reopening, An Expert Explains How To Assess COVID-19 Risk

Some bits I found interesting:

In the United States, we have 21 states where we see cases increasing, some of them quite dramatically. In 21 states - in addition to that, we have cases decreasing, and nine right in the middle where it's just level. And we can't tie this to necessarily reopening the economy. The states where we're seeing cases decrease have also had reopenings (ph). And so I think it's - the virus is doing what it's doing right now. And we just aren't quite sure what it's going to do next.

OSTERHOLM: I don't worry about food. I don't worry about newsprint. I don't worry about packages I get here. I don't worry about doorknobs and railings any more than I would during the regular cold season. You know, it's not that that's what's going to be the major challenge with this virus. Over and over again, it's the air that we share with each other that is critical. That's why distancing is so important.

OSTERHOLM: As we're recording this on Tuesday, almost two weeks out from when the protests begin, which is important because we would expect to see cases start to develop within that first five to seven days after exposure and really present to medical care in the next five to seven days so about this time. And I can say we haven't seen any major increase at all in cases in any of the cities around the United States that might be associated with protesting. When it first occurred and we were watching it on our televisions or being part of the protests themselves, it was clear that we were seeing all these people together for what had just been several months of hardly anyone together.

 

[astheworldfallsdown]

Coronavirus: Third UK meat factory confirms COVID-19 outbreak

A third meat factory in the UK has announced a COVID-19 outbreak and has been forced to halt production.

The cluster of coronavirus cases at the Kober meat processing plant in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, was confirmed by its owner Asda on Thursday.


Health Secretary Matt Hancock had earlier told the Downing Street briefing there had been a localised outbreak in the Kirklees area of the county.

It comes after further outbreaks were announced in food factories in Anglesey and Wrexham in North Wales.

Asda said it "responded swiftly" as soon as it became aware of the outbreak, adding it was working with the local authority and Public Health England to "test all colleagues".

Doctors and local officials in the community expressed frustration about learning about the outbreak during the government's coronavirus briefing.

One local GP said she was "slack-jawed" at finding out about the situation on the TV.

 

[Sundog]

Apologies in advance. I have dropped back in. Sorry.

Where are we now? The CDC has stated the mortality rate of COVID-19 in the first month of the epidemic was 0.27%. When nursing homes homes were overrun by the virus. Nursing home deaths have accounted for over 50% of the 120,000 deaths in the U.S. from COVID-19. But they are not being overrun now. The current mortality rate of COVID-19 is likely now close to the flu at 0.1%, and we will hear about this soon, IMO. If not, call me out on it.

The chance of 0-24 year old person dying of COVID-19 is lower than than the chance of dying in a car crash in their lifetime. Not 10x lower, not 100x lower, not 1000x lower, 3400x lower based on CDC data and the National Safety Council.

3400x.

46 million people out of work.

What are we doing? I am posting a summary that I made to more receptive audience. I do not mean to be disrespectful to your fears, but I hope to provide prospective. And I believe we have been led down a subservient path that I have never seen in my lifetime.

Before my post, a brief synopsis of a section of George Orwell's Animal Farm, which I believe is prophetic.

George Orwell uses the sheep to display how important it was for those in the position of power to ensure that their message would consolidate their own power. The sheep do not have any individuality. They lack names and simply bleat in unison. They are heard on cue from Squealer. Agreement is not necessary in this setting where adherence is the most important element. In repeating the chant of "Two Legs Good, Four Legs Bad," the sheep operate as reminders of Animalism, the philosophy that put the pigs in power. They bleat as a way to emphasize that the leadership of the pigs is in the best interest of all the farm animals.

Over time, the power of the pigs grows. They eventually learn to walk on two legs, mirroring the humans that used to control the farm before the revolution. Teaching the sheep the new chant of "Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better" is another reminder of how the sheep are used to consolidate the pig power over the farm. Once again, the sheep do not question anything they are taught. Their chanting drowns out any other voices.

******

If you are reading this, you are not dead of COVID-19. Good for you. However, I have some bad news, you will die someday. What will you die of?

The current death toll of coronavirus in the U.S. is at 119,000, a seemingly big number. In a country of 330 million people, this is 0.036% of the population dead of COVID-19. Average age is around 80.

Forbes published a list of causes of death, and the chance in percentages that you will die of specific events. The media and politician’s agenda repeatedly tells us that we are at perilous risk of dying of COVID-19. "Flattening the curve" to prevent healthcare overrun has been mysteriously transformed into save every life- at any collateral cost. Stay shut down.

We seemed to have gone along with it, bleating- “Four legs good, two legs better.” The media and the political machine behind the media, are abusing information and using their power to control the masses and spread their message. People were initially scared into flattening the curve, but the curve has been flattened and the virus has been shown to be far less deadly than previously stated. Dissenting opinion on the lockdown measures are drowned out by the sheep- and certainly not allowed on television or in print.

In the list attached, I have added in the chance of dying in the U.S. from coronavirus from March until today- outside of being in a nursing home, to the Forbes data. This may roughly represent your chance of dying of COVID-19 going forward through the rest of 2020, until there is a vaccine. Age demographics from Wikipedia, and COVID-19 death data from the CDC.

The data shows that for Americans that are not in nursing homes, there is a-

5x higher chance of drowning or dying in a fire than of COVID-19
45x higher chance of dying of poisoning than of COVID-19
67x higher chance of dying in a car crash than of COVID-19

The chances of your child aged 0-24 dying at some point in their life from a car crash is 3400x higher than them dying of COVID-19.

Should we stop swimming, and drive less? No, because we accept the inherent risks of life.

Should we keep children out of school and close colleges? Of course not, but it appears likely.

At this point we know that vulnerable people need to lockdown, and not businesses, schools, and working Americans. A temporary lockdown was needed in the populated areas of the northeast, but the curve was flattened long ago.

Open up now. Spread the word. Be the shepherd.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tombarlow/2011/05/10/the-odds-on-how-you-will-die/#1377bfa71be7

View attachment 251705

Good to see you back!

 

[Trino]

How sad is this.
Trump says some Americans wear coronavirus masks ‘to signal disapproval of him’
Trump says some Americans wear coronavirus masks 'to signal disapproval of him'

 

[nhmemorymaker]

42,000 cruise ship workers still trapped at sea

“At the start of the pandemic, the Bahamas, which serves as the flag state for many cruise ships, rejected requests to take passengers in and later, cruise ship workers.”

“According to the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), the Bahamas government collected $54.2 million from cruise lines in 2018.”

“The U.S. Coast Guard, overwhelmed by dozens of medical evacuations for crew with COVID-19, told ships to seek medical help for crew members from their flag states instead. The Bahamas said it couldn’t help.”

'What about us?': Filipino cruise crews struggle to get home

“The Philippines allowed some cruise ships to anchor at the Manila Bay as a way to facilitate the return of its nationals, who make up about a third of the industry’s global seagoing crew.

But the repatriation en masse of other Filipino workers from all over the world caught the government off-guard, and resources crumbled under the weight of testing tens of thousands of returnees.”

The "image" of a cruise ship has changed forever.

 

[tresir2012]

Texas:

Texas coronavirus hospitalizations surge 11% in a single day

• The number of people sickened with Covid-19 across Texas' hospitals hit a new high Wednesday, surging about 11% in a single day.
• The total Wednesday marks the eighth new high in the state in less than two weeks.
• Texas coronavirus hospitalizations are now up more than 84% since Memorial Day as the state continues to reopen.

[...]

“While the increased hospital occupancy does raise concerns, the state's hospital capacity remains at "the lowest threat level," Abbott said. "We have plenty of room to expand beds, there are thousands of hospital beds that are available as we speak right now," he said.”

___

COVID-19 updates: Dallas, Tarrant counties hit record-highs for patients treated for coronavirus

“Those are up 73% and 95% in the three and a half weeks since Memorial Day.”
__

Houston protesters starting to test positive for COVID-19

—-

Mayors to Texans: 'We cannot afford to ignore the consequences' of COVID-19
The mayors of nine Texas cities, including Houston, penned a letter to all of Texas urging everyone to not let their guard down.

““If we want the economy to open fully and stay open, if we want to send our kids back to school from pre-k to college, if we want to watch and play sports with people in the stands, if we want to attend cultural arts events like concerts and theatre, if we want banquets and parades in the fall, if we want our lives back as Texans, we need to take this seriously,” they wrote.

“Very seriously.””

Woah outdoor event, wearing a mask but still catching it.

From your HOUSTON link

"HOUSTON - Protesters from the last few weeks have started testing positive for Coronavirus COVID-19.

Roughly two weeks ago, Shamone Turner and her friends, joined a large demonstration for George Floyd. An estimated 60,000 people were in attendance, marching from Discovery Green to Houston’s City Hall.



RELATED: George Floyd's family joined 60,000 people in historic Houston march

“I actually got sick the day after the march,” said Turner. “I could not move out of the bed. I was in the bed just sighing.”

According to Turner, several of her friends with her at the march also tested positive for the Coronavirus. Turner says they were all wearing masks."

Getting sick the day after so maybe not from that event as that seems quick for symptoms to show IMO

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Holding that rally is absolute madness. You just have to shake your head in wonderment.

It is horrifying to me that gambling with American lives has become sport. We all have a choice. Yes, I know that... but lots and lots of people are encouraged to play a game rather than make healthy choices.

Tulsa and Masks have just become a macho game.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Florida sees record 3,207 new coronavirus cases, with new highs for Tampa Bay

It is now hurricane season here in Florida, and we are watching covid-storms up and down the state.

Fifteen straight days with cases above 1000...now up to 3207.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

DeSantis keeps blaming this on testing, but that is not the whole story at all.

Why Are COVID Cases Rising in Florida?

It’s hard to pinpoint how much this wave is a response to businesses reopening and how much it’s due to other factors. Prins noted that, anecdotally, a lot of Floridians appear to have given up on wearing masks.

And Florida is now seeing a demographic shift: The people testing positive are now younger. A Florida Department of Health report found that Floridians under the age 18 are testing positive at almost twice the rate of residents of the state as a whole.

 

[tresir2012]

Virus already in Italy in December, study finds

Not sure I have seen this before but in Italy in December.

"Italian scientists say sewage water from two cities contained coronavirus traces in December, long before the country's first confirmed cases.

The National Institute of Health (ISS) said water from Milan and Turin showed genetic virus traces on 18 December.

It adds to evidence from other countries that the virus may have been circulating much earlier than thought.

Chinese officials confirmed the first cases at the end of December. Italy's first case was in mid-February.

In May French scientists said tests on samples showed a patient treated for suspected pneumonia near Paris on 27 December actually had the coronavirus.

Meanwhile in Spain a study found virus traces in waste water collected in mid-January in Barcelona, some 40 days before the first local case was discovered.

• 'We all became heroes but they've already forgotten us'

In their study, ISS scientists examined 40 sewage samples collected from wastewater treatment plants in northern Italy between last October and February.

Samples from October and November came back negative, showing that the virus had not yet arrived, ISS water quality expert Giuseppina La Rosa said. Waste water from Bologna began showing traces of the virus in January."

 

[ilovewings]

Perhaps they have a rude message written on the mask ????

I don't think so: he is saying anybody wearing a mask may be expressing disapproval
of him--- i am speechless really- well, not really- i have lots to say but can't say it-- so i will shut up now LOL

 

[tresir2012]

I don't think so: he is saying anybody wearing a mask may be expressing disapproval
of him--- i am speechless really- well, not really- i have lots to say but can't say it-- so i will shut up now LOL

I was trying to be funny.

 

[ilovewings]

It is horrifying to me that gambling with American lives has become sport. We all have a choice. Yes, I know that... but lots and lots of people are encouraged to play a game rather than make healthy choices.

Tulsa and Masks have just become a macho game.

It is mind-boggling --- it all starts at the top and trickles down to the masses. very sad and very tragic because people will get sick, will die, and will spread this nasty virus to loved ones. all in the name of politics. SMH

 

[musicaljoke]

US - Officials: Masks are required in Orange county, Florida due to increasing coronavirus case numbers.

Shut the stable door after the horse has bolted.

 

[ilovewings]

DeSantis keeps blaming this on testing, but that is not the whole story at all.

Why Are COVID Cases Rising in Florida?

It’s hard to pinpoint how much this wave is a response to businesses reopening and how much it’s due to other factors. Prins noted that, anecdotally, a lot of Floridians appear to have given up on wearing masks.

And Florida is now seeing a demographic shift: The people testing positive are now younger. A Florida Department of Health report found that Floridians under the age 18 are testing positive at almost twice the rate of residents of the state as a whole.

Perhaps it is because young people are congregating in large crowds in bars and restaurants---