COVID–19 Headlines April 8, 2020

The Covid-19 has infected more than 1.4 million and killed more than 82 thousand people worldwide. It has killed more the flu can kill all year. According to the CDC, the deaths this year is estimated to be 24,000 to 63,000.

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All of the articles I have written about Covid-19 are below.

Relevant all the time: An article I wrote last year for the Holy Week. I edited a bit for easier reading and toned down the medical terms.

COVID-19 Headlines

8 pm EST update. An increase of 58,726 cases and 4,723 deaths. Death rate 5.84

ice_screenshot_20200408-194151 — JHU CSSE

Health expert says drop in US death projection is due to change in American behavior

Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said models projecting the number of American deaths from coronavirus have dropped dramatically in recent days because Americans have drastically changed their behavior.

Birx said the US was doing “much better in many cases than several other countries, and we’re trying to understand that.”

“We believe that our health care delivery system in the United States is quite extraordinary,” she said, but added that the models were based on “what America is doing.”

US and Philips announce agreement under Defense Production Act to ramp up ventilator production-CNN

The Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday announced a second major purchase of ventilators, buying more than 43,000 ventilators from the manufacturer Philips for $646.7 million.

The ventilators will go into the national stockpile, which gets distributed across the country, in chunks. Philips will make a first delivery by the end of May of 2,500 ventilators, the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement. The company will deliver a total of 43,000 ventilators by the end of the year.

Walmart, Costco, Target are barred from selling ‘nonessential’ items such as clothing and electronics in parts of the US-Business Insider

Big-box stores and grocery chains in certain areas of the US are being barred from selling nonessential items to customers to reduce foot traffic and prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Certain local governments have directed stores to empty areas with nonessential items such as clothing and electronics or rope off these items from customers.

Some shoppers have applauded the new restrictions and encouraged other local governments to implement them.

Pompeo changes tune on China: Now is “not the time for retribution”-CNN

When asked Wednesday if China has withheld information on the coronavirus, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that now is “not the time for retribution” and instead stressed transparency of data from China and other countries.

China, he added, has been cooperating in many areas that the US is “deeply appreciative” of, but he did not get into additional details.

The CDC released a guide on how to make a face mask without sewing skills. Materials include a bandana, a coffee filter, and hair ties.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now recommending Americans wear cloth masks in public, particularly in dense areas, such as New York City.

Though evidence on the effectiveness of simple cloth masks is thin, the CDC says there is a chance they could slow the transmission of the virus, and prevent people who have COVID-19 but are not yet showing symptoms from unknowingly spreading it to others. More at the link

5G Conspiracy Theorists Are Using Fears About The Coronavirus To Make Money

A network of British conspiracy theorists are promoting — and profiting from — a hoax that 5G cellular technology is spreading COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

As 5G, the industry term for the fifth generation of wireless communications infrastructure, has spread across 40 countries worldwide — most notably South Korea and China, but also in dozens of US cities — so too have distorted fears about its health effects.

New technology will allow California to sterilize and reuse N95 masks

California will utilize new technology from the company Battelle that allows for the sterilization and reuse of N95 masks as early as this week, Mark Ghilarducci, with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, announced today.

‘I have the cure’: slew of US scammers seek to capitalize on coronavirus fears-Guardian

As the coronavirus pandemic surged across America, Keith Middlebrook turned to his thousands of social followers and announced he’d found a solution.

“Yes, I’ve created the cure that shuts down the Covid-19,” claimed the 53-year-old California actor in a YouTube video released in mid-March. He boasted of inventing a miracle treatment that “makes the cells from the coronavirus detach, release and die within 48 hours”, later offering anyone who invested $300,000 a guaranteed return of $30m.

Trump approves Vermont’s disaster declaration-CNN

Thousands Of People Crowded Public Spaces After Chinese Cities Ended Their Coronavirus Quarantines

Over the weekend, thousands of people flocked into China’s public spaces and parks for an attempt at normalcy during a deadly coronavirus pandemic that’s far from over.

Coronavirus: 68 per cent of cases confirmed in China in past eight days had no symptoms

Of the 885 infections reported between March 31 and April 7, 601 people showed no visible signs, National Health Commission says

But scientists say data set is too small to draw any conclusions about how Covid-19 spreads

The 55-year-old British leader received oxygen support but was not put on a ventilator and his designated deputy, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, said he would soon be back at the helm.

1 pm EST update. An increase of 11,250 cases and 1,395 deaths since 6:30 am. Death rate 5.75%

ice_screenshot_20200408-125949 — JHU CSSE

The president of the European Union’s ERC scientific research council has resigned after three months in the job with an attack on the EU’s scientific governance and political operations.

Mauro Ferrari said he had lost faith in the system after he failed to set up a special programme to fight coronavirus.

The EU’s executive, the European Commission said it regretted his resignation at such an early stage.

It said it had the most comprehensive measures to combat the virus.

Special Report: How federal snafus slowed testing at a top U.S. hospital-Reuters

UVA’s medical center, part of a top-flight medical school, had banked on those assurances in developing a strategy and backup plans to ensure it could test patients for the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. But its efforts were stymied at almost every turn by federal health agencies, the rapid collapse of medical supply chains, and the slow pace of test development by commercial labs and companies. Hospitals in Seattle, Sacramento, Pittsburgh and elsewhere ran into some of the same obstacles.

Once the pandemic is over, more monitoring systems will be in place.

Coronavirus: Biometric IDs could be ‘gamechanger’ for tests, vaccines-JP

Digital identity systems are already in use in many countries, linking biometric data such as fingerprints and iris scans to a unique digital code, allowing for remote identification.

Coronavirus: China reports no Covid-19 deaths for first time-BBC

China reported no coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, the first time since it started publishing daily figures in January.

The National Health Commission said it had 32 confirmed cases, down from 39 on Monday.

It comes as the government is under scrutiny as to whether it is underreporting its figures.

Japan sees increase in virus cases-NHK

The figure reported on Wednesday includes people found to have the virus in airport quarantine checks, and those who returned to Japan on chartered planes from China.

Adding 712 cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship brings the total to 5,480. The number of deaths caused by the virus stands at 109, including 11 from the ship.

Coronavirus: Hong Kong records 25 new cases, including two-month-old baby and clinic staff member; tally at 960-SCMP

Fifteen patients among fresh cases had recent travel history

Figures follow closure of beauty and massage parlours as authorities continue to tighten social-distancing measures

How Long Can the Covid-19 Virus Survive in Common Surfaces?

Alcohol Abuse, Covid-19, and Lung Complications

Can’t Smell and Taste Suddenly? It Can be Covid-19!

Novavax Inc said on Wednesday it had identified a novel coronavirus vaccine candidate and would start human trials in mid-May.

The Maryland-based late-stage biotechnology company said its Matrix-M adjuvant would be used with the vaccine candidate – NVX-CoV2373 – to enhance immune responses.

Leaked Emails Show That While The VA Announced It Had Adequate Coronavirus Gear, A Major VA Hospital Was Rationing-Buzzfeed

Less than 30 minutes after the Veterans Affairs headquarters announced it had adequate equipment, staffers in LA were told to start rationing masks.

Coronavirus: N95, surgical face mask or DIY? Experts say ‘something better than nothing’-SCMP

After the United States recommended citizens make their own cloth face masks, experts weigh in on their effectiveness

Research shows surgical masks work, but even the gold standard N95 respirators should not be used as a substitute for social distancing, scientists warn

Ministries warned about increasing cyber threats, Zoom’s security flaws

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 — While Malaysia tries to contain the spread of Covid-19 during the movement control order, the country is also facing an increase in cyber threats. According to internal documents made available to us, the government ministries have been warned about several cybersecurity issues by the National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa) and the National Cyber Coordination and Command Centre (NC4).

6:30 am EST. An increase of 26,390 cases and 961 deaths since 7:30 pm last night. Death rate 5.7 %. Still rising

ice_screenshot_20200408-062113

Coronavirus: Observing Passover in the time of the 11th plague

Passover is the calendar’s first major Jewish holiday being observed since the severity of the global coronavirus pandemic became evident to all. Indeed, observing the festival in an era of social distancing will require a great deal of creative adaptation.

Ironically, the holiday sees large groups gathering around Seder tables to celebrate the Jewish people’s liberation from bondage in Egypt by reciting passages about great suffering and the 10 plagues that God visited upon Egypt. In light of this, some are referring to the pandemic and the resulting harsh restrictions by calling them – perhaps only half in jest – the 11th plague.

People who deliberately spread coronavirus to health workers face life in prison, government warns

Health Minister Greg Hunt has slammed reports of people abusing healthcare workers, warning people who deliberately try to spread coronavirus to them could face life in jail.

Coronavirus: Boris Johnson’s hospitalisation has created an unprecedented UK power vacuum-SCMP

Dominic Raab has become Britain’s stand-in leader, but does he command support from rival colleagues?

Comes at crucial time for UK government, which must make critical decisions about country’s health crisis

The poor man’s Passover prayer-JP

What makes this night different?

Many things, this year. All over the Jewish world, people will be celebrating a very different Passover under the shadow of the current plague. Homes will be imperfectly cleaned, hametz will be sold rather than burned, families will not be reclining round the same table. Seders will be significantly smaller, less Torah will be spoken, fewer songs sung.

Yet this Passover, like any other, will be ushered in with the declaration of Kol Hamira. The prayer, recited the night before Passover, and then again the following morning, is an official annulment of any hametz we might have overlooked in our cleaning: “All hametz and leaven that is in my possession which I have not seen or burned, let it be annulled and deemed like the dust of the earth.”

British Columbia is winning the coronavirus fight. Did it get lucky with weather, holidays and a shrewd Chinese community?-SCMP

Virologist Jason Kindrachuk ‘absolutely’ believes BC’s Chinese community may have suppressed Covid-19 by adopting physical distancing long ahead of others

BC has reduced its daily rate of new infections to about 3 per cent, far below the 9 per cent rate in Quebec and Ontario

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COVID-19 Headlines

‘I have the cure’: slew of US scammers seek to capitalize on coronavirus fears-Guardian

France’s coronavirus death toll tops 10,000-NHK

Coronavirus: Biometric IDs could be ‘gamechanger’ for tests, vaccines-JP

Can’t Smell and Taste Suddenly? It Can be Covid-19!

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