Covid-19 Headline News Feb. 20, 2020

This post is for all the latest news about the novel coronavirus also known as Covid-19. A quote from the news is included below. Click on the headline titles to get to the original news post.

Covid-19 Data as of Feb 20, 2020, 6:34 pm Shanghai Time

Headlines from All Over the World

ice_screenshot_20200220-172729 — from The Daily Telegraph

Autopsies reveal differences between SARS and coronavirus – Taiwan News

Chinese pulmonologist Zhong Nanshan pointed out that unlike those who perished due to SARS, autopsies of the first two deaths in the recent outbreak reveal that their lungs did not exhibit significant pulmonary fibrosis, or thickened and stiff lung tissue, reported Sina. Instead, their lungs were found to have severe inflammations and mucus buildup, which resulted in breathing difficulty.

The findings of the pathological autopsies serve to help front line medical workers better treat patients. For example, they should ensure patients’ respiratory tracts function properly so as to allow air to pass into the lungs, he reckoned.

1FBI has ordered $40,000 in hand sanitizer and face masks ‘in case the coronavirus becomes a pandemic in the United States’ – CNBC

The masks and disinfectants “are to be stored throughout the country for distribution in the event of a declared pandemic,” according to the document, which was signed Friday and gave the companies a week to fulfill the order. The document said the “supplies are for the FBI strategic stockpile for Pandemic Preparedness.”

Japan issues guidelines to prevent rush on hospitals as COVID-19 cases surge – Japan Times

The guidelines urge people to stay home if they have symptoms. If symptoms grow serious, they are advised to call a special consultation center set up by the government.

The guidelines advise that people seek a consultation if they have a fever of 37.5 degrees or above for four days or more, experience difficulty breathing or feel severe drowsiness.

If a person is elderly or has certain pre-existing conditions like diabetes, heart problems or respiratory diseases, or is undergoing dialysis or is taking an immunosuppressive or anticancer drug, they should call the center if symptoms continue for two days or more.

Health minister Katsunobu Kato urged those who have cold-like symptoms like a fever to stay away from school and work, and to check their temperature every day.

Eight more COVID-19 infections confirmed in Tokyo as Japan sees spate of domestic transmissions – Japan Times

Eight people in Tokyo, three more who have connections to a hospital in Wakayama Prefecture and one person in Nagoya tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday as Japan struggles with a daily increase in the number of domestic cases of the virus.

Seven of the eight people in Tokyo had had close contact with a taxi driver who this week tested positive for the coronavirus, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said.

The remaining person in Tokyo is a businessman in his 40s and is in serious condition in hospital. After showing symptoms such as coughing and fever last Monday, the man made a business trip on a Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train to Aichi Prefecture, metro officials said, adding that he has not traveled to China recently.

Meanwhile, Wakayama Prefecture officials announced Saturday that another doctor in his 50s who worked at Saiseikai Arida Hospital in the town of Yuasa tested positive for the new coronavirus. An earlier case also involved a doctor in his 50s.

Iraq Shuts Border Crossings with Iran amid Corona fear – AA.com

The Maysan province in Iraq decided Thursday to close its border with Iran over fears of the spread of the new coronavirus in Iraq.

Local Iraqi media reported that Health Ministry decided to prevent Iranian citizens from entering the country until further notice.

The southern province confirmed the al-Sheib border crossing was closed Thursday to passengers and commerce.

Authorities in the southeastern Wasit province urged the government close the Zurbatiyah border crossing with Iran to prevent the spread of the virus, officially known as COVID-19.

In Najaf, officials also warned of traveling to Qom.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi authorities decided to suspend visa issuance for Iranian citizens.

According to a statement issued by the Interior Ministry, the decision will go into effect as of Thursday.

The measures came after Iran confirmed Wednesday first two deaths from coronavirus in the city of Qom, in addition to three new cases on Thursday.

Hospitals across the US prepare for coronavirus outbreak to become global pandemic – CNBC

“This is the time to open up your pandemic plans and see that things are in order,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, a top official of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, urged hospitals last week as an outbreak of a deadly new coronavirus ravaged much of China.

“For instance,” she continued, health-care providers need to plan for a “surge at a hospital, the ability to provide personal protective equipment for your workforce, the administrative controls and so forth that you might put place in a health care setting.

Coronavirus is like flu, spreads more easily than thought: Study

Unlike severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), which causes infections deep in the lower respiratory tract that can result in pneumonia, Covid-19 appears to inhabit both the upper and lower respiratory tracts.

That would make it capable of not only causing severe pneumonia, but also spreading easily like flu or the common cold.

Coronavirus: US will test people with flu symptoms, in expansion of government response– SCMP. This news is from Feb15, 2020 but it makes more sense now that we know that Covid-19 can have symptoms like and spread like the flu.

Nancy Messonnier of the Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the US would begin to test individuals for the coronavirus if they have been identified by local health authorities as having flu-like symptoms.

China changes method of counting COVID-19 patients again from CNA. This may explain the sudden drop in new cases.

BEIJING: China said Thursday (Feb 20) it has again changed the method of counting patients with COVID-19 and will now include only those diagnosed by sophisticated laboratory testing.

It is the second time in just eight days that the country has revised its criteria – a move that could muddle statistics and complicate efforts to track the spread of the illness.

“At some point, we are likely to see community spread in the U.S. or in other countries,” she warned.

The threat of the new virus comes at an already busy time for most U.S. hospitals. Another serious respiratory illness, the seasonal flu, is at its peak in the United States, with more than 26 million cases and many hospitals stretched thin. A larger spread of the new virus across the U.S. could overwhelm emergency rooms and quickly cause supply shortages of some crucial medical supplies, according to half a dozen interviews with doctors, U.S. hospitals and health systems.

Fecal transmission may be behind coronavirus’ rapid spread

The novel coronavirus is shed in the feces of infected people, which may help explain why it’s spread so fast, according to Chinese researchers.

The finding of live virus particles in stool specimens indicates a fecal-oral route for coronavirus, which may be why it’s caused outbreaks on cruise ships with an intensity often seen with gastro-causing norovirus, which also spreads along that pathway.

The agency recommends strengthening sanitation and hygiene measures to prevent fecal-oral transmission in epidemic areas. These include drinking boiled water, avoiding eating raw food, implementing separate meal systems, frequent hand-washing, disinfecting toilets, and preventing water and food contamination from patients’ stool.

“The virus can also be transmitted through the potential fecal-oral route,” the Chinese CDC said. “This means that stool samples may contaminate hands, food, water” and cause infection when the microbes enter the mouth or eyes, or are inhaled, they said.

Iran announces 3 new cases of new virus after 2 deaths – AP

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran said Thursday that three more people have been infected with the new virus that originated in central China, following an announcement the day before that two people had died of the illness caused by the virus in the Iranian city of Qom.

All schools and universities, including religious Shiite seminaries, were shut down in the holy city of Qom, according to the official IRNA news agency. Other news reports said Iran had recently evacuated 60 Iranian students from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the epicenter of the epidemic.

Wearing a face mask: how to dispose of them safely and can they be reused? – SCMP

Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious diseases expert at Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre, said that

One should always wash their hands before taking off the mask, as touching one’s face with unwashed hands heightens the risk of illnesses.

After that, one should take off the mask, and fold it in half inwards, such that the droplets from the mouth and nose are not exposed.

Then, fold the mask into another half, and then another half, until the mask looks like a roll. The mask can also be wrapped with its ear loops so that it will not unravel.

Leong said the user should wrap the mask in a piece of tissue, before throwing it into a rubbish bin.

Associate Professor Alex Cook, Vice Dean of research at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore, said people infected with a virus should be more mindful of where they discard their masks.

“If you are infected with a virus and are wearing a mask to prevent transmission – as you should – you can dispose of it in the regular bin,” Cook said. “But it would be a good idea to put it in a bag and throw it immediately in the trash rather than leave it sitting exposed.”

What if you want to reuse your mask?

In general, one should change face masks regularly, usually once its inner lining becomes moist, said Leong.

To reuse a face mask, Leong said that one has to keep it dry so that it can last as long as possible. One should take off the mask without pulling it under the chin so germs there will not attach to the mask.

“If dry, and the layers and shape are intact, I would consider putting it in a ziplock bag with a desiccating gel,” he said.

Amid Coronavirus, U.S. Cities Stretch to Monitor Self-Quarantined Americans – From the WSJ

More than 5,400 people had been asked to self-quarantine in California alone as of Feb. 14, according to the California Department of Public Health. Hundreds more are self-quarantining in Georgia, Washington state, Illinois, New York and other states.

So far, there have been 15 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the U.S., not including the potentially positive cases among those evacuated from the Diamond Princess. While health officials have investigated 479 people for the virus as of Wednesday, 412 tested negative, with 52 cases pending, according to the CDC. The immediate risk to the general public is still low, health officials say.

China deploys 40 incinerators to Wuhan amid fears of coronavirus death toll ‘cover up’

The mobile incinerators can reportedly destroy up to five tons of waste every single day – and can burn its load in as little as two seconds.

Reportedly the cabin is the size of a 20-foot standard container and has a volume of about 30 cubic meters.

It reportedly has the ability to crush solid waste, then incinerate it, and then purify the smoke.

Large trucks were reportedly spotted transporting the cabins into the disease ravaged city of Wuhan.

Professor Ming Ju reportedly said he believes the cabins are “mobile incinerators” for bodies.

And meanwhile, Professor Qu Zan said the virus could not survive the 850 degree heat created by the furnace.

Wuhan locals reportedly have questions the need for such cabins as there is not a widespread infection of animals with the virus.

Health Officials: US Experiencing Worst Flu Season For Children In Past Decade As Second Influenza Wave Spreading– We also have to be careful about the flu.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — It’s been a bad flu season for children nationwide and now officials say there is a second wave of influenza spreading. Pennsylvania has more than 72,000 confirmed cases of the flu, which is just a small reflection of the number of people who are sick.

The flu can be dangerous for children, especially if they have a weakened immune system or have not been vaccinated.

Dr. Aditi Joshi, with Jefferson Health, says it’s easily spread in schools.

“Because it’s very contagious, it can live on surfaces for a few hours even if you’re not there and if you don’t wash your hands, it tends to be very contagious for that reason, so kids tend to get it a lot,” Dr. Joshi said.

The CDC says this is one of the worst flu seasons for children. Ninety-two have died since last fall, which is the highest total at this point in the season in the past decade.

‘Like a zombie apocalypse’: Residents on edge as coronavirus cases surge in South Korea– Reuters

SEOUL (Reuters) – Residents of a South Korean city at the centre of a new coronavirus outbreak described empty streets, deserted shops, and a climate of fear as a surge in confirmed cases linked to a church raised the prospect of wider transmission.

Malls, restaurants and streets in Daegu, the country’s fourth largest city with a population of 2.5 million, were largely empty in scenes that residents and social media users likened to a disaster movie.

“It’s like someone dropped a bomb in the middle of the city. It looks like a zombie apocalypse,” Kim Geun-woo, a 28-year-old resident told Reuters by telephone.

“Even Dongseong-ro Street – the most crowded centre of the city – is empty,” he said, adding that he had tried to buy surgical masks but shops were sold out.

South Korea reports first coronavirus death as 2.5 million urged to stay home

Seoul: South Korea has reported its first death of a person infected with coronavirus as well as 22 new cases, bringing the total to 104.

The death and a rise in new infections in South Korea fanned fears on Thursday of the global spread of the pathogen as research suggested it was more contagious than thought and two elderly passengers from a cruise ship quarantined in Japan died.

Coronavirus 20 times more lethal than the flu? Death toll passes 2,000

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention put the overall death rate for the virus at 2.3%. The season’s flu death rate in the U.S. thus far is about 0.1%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Two elderly passengers from the coronavirus-hit cruise ship in Japan die as public criticism grows

TOKYO (REUTERS) – Two passengers from a coronavirus-hit cruise ship moored near Tokyo have died, public broadcaster NHK said on Thursday (Feb 20), as a second group of passengers began disembarking after two weeks quarantined on board.

More than 620 of the passengers on the Diamond Princess liner have been infected on the ship, which has been quarantined since Feb 3, initially with about 3,700 people on board.

NHK, citing a government source, said the passengers were a Japanese man and woman in their 80s.

Passengers from other countries will be quarantined as they arrive in their own countries. But in Japan,

Disembarked Japanese passengers, however, face no such restrictions, a decision that has sparked concern.

Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Mr Yoshihide Suga, when asked on Wednesday why Japanese leaving the ship did not have to spend another two weeks in quarantine, referred to the advice of Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID).

The NIID said there should be no problem if people had shown no symptoms for 14 days and had tested negative for the virus during the period their health was under surveillance.

Coronavirus: Egypt, Algeria, South Africa at ‘high risk.’

A study by the Lancet medical journal suggested that Egypt, Algeria and South Africa are at high risk of suffering from the deadly coronavirus because of higher levels of travel and trade with China, where the COVID-19 virus first arose.

However, she said “some countries remain ill-equipped” to deal with the threat and more needed to be done with surveillance and rapid identification of suspected cases, patient isolation and contact tracing.

While almost three-quarters of African countries have an influenza pandemic preparedness plan, most are outdated and considered inadequate.

China to expand plasma treatments for coronavirus patients

Last week, China National Biotec Group, a state-owned company under the Ministry of Health, announced that virus-neutralising antibodies had been detected in the plasma of patients who had recovered from Covid-19.

The company said these antibodies had helped treat more than 10 critically ill patients and reduced their inflammation after 12 to 24 hours of treatment.

Coronavirus: Death toll in China hits 2,118, number of new cases falls

Coronavirus: China receives protective gear from the US as death toll passes 2,000

China said on Wednesday that it had received 16 tonnes of supplies from the United States, including face masks and other protective gear.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that China hoped the US would deliver on its promised US$100 million donation to help contain the outbreak, made on February 8.

Novel coronavirus may exist for a long time: expert

In an interview with China Central Television on Wednesday night, Wang Chen, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said since SARS has strong transmissibility and pathogenicity, it is hard for the virus to survive and continue to spread among people. If the virus kills the host, it too perishes.

However, it is possible that COVID-19 many turn into a long-standing disease like influenza, said Wang.

“We must be prepared for that,” said Wang, emphasizing the need to study the biological characteristics of the virus, and make corresponding arrangements in clinical prevention and treatment, as well as other preventive measures in production and our daily lives.

Testing on deceased coronavirus patients offers new hope for the living – Examining the dead bodies provides a better understanding of how the Covid-19 affects the body and will help with future treatments.

Coronavirus spreads more like flu than Sars: Chinese study

Scientists in China who studied nose and throat swabs from 18 patients infected with the new coronavirus say it behaves much more like influenza than other closely related viruses, suggesting it may spread even more easily than previously believed.

In at least in one case, the virus was present even though the patient had no symptoms, confirming concerns that asymptomatic patients could also spread the disease.

Scientists refute theories suggesting COVID-19 has no natural origin

Scientists from multiple countries have published and analysed genomes of the causative agent, and “overwhelmingly conclude that this coronavirus originated in wildlife, as have so many other emerging pathogens,” said the statement.

“This is further supported by a letter from the presidents of the US National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine and by the scientific communities they represent,” added the statement.

University students battle coronavirus and boredom – Many international students study in China

“The virus is threatening people’s lives. We can’t just stand by,” he said. “No matter which country we come from, we must unite. We also want to express our support and friendship to Wuhan and the Chinese people. We firmly believe that China will win this battle soon. We love China. China is our second home!”

Feel free to share. Don’t miss an article. Subscribe for free with your email.

Don’t Get Sick!