Category: Corona Virus

Editors note: This is a live account of COVID-19 updates from Friday, July 18, as the day unfolded. It is no longer being updated. Click here to see all the most recent news about the pandemic, and click here to find additional resources.

Washington could be in for another round of coronavirus restrictions, Gov. Jay Inslee said Thursday, during a news conference where he announced a limit of 10 people at social gatherings in Washington counties that are further along in the reopening process.

Inslees announcement came as Washington set a new record for confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, with state health officials Thursday reporting 1,267 new cases and six additional deaths.The tally clocked in at nearly twice the average number of cases per day in the past two weeks.

Throughout Friday, on this page, well be posting Seattle Times journalists updates on the outbreak and its effects on the Seattle area, the Pacific Northwest and the world. Updates from Thursday can be found here, and all our coronavirus coverage can be found here.

OLYMPIA In the lateststatewide COVID-19 situation report released Friday afternoon by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), public health officials describe "an explosive situation" in Washington state, where 1,267new COVID-19 cases were confirmed Thursday, the state's highest single-day uptick.

Per the report, transmission has steadily increased or accelerated across Washington state since the start of July "and will continue to do so unless concrete steps are taken to stop the spread." On July 14, Gov. Jay Inslee paused Washington's phased reopening plan through July 28.

The trends are not limited to early hot spots for the novel coronavirus, like King County, or locations with more recent flare-ups, like Yakima County.

While the reproductive number in Yakima County is lower than the rest of the state, positive signs from previous reports appear to be plateauing, the state DOH found, as the test positive rate remains high there.

The amount of daily new cases is higher than Washington's previous peak in March, the report stresses, with the demographics of the virus continuing to skew younger and with hospitalization on the rise across the state and across age groups.

Hospitalization rates are just starting to rise in Western Washington, where the surge is led by 20-to-39-year-olds. Per the state, the recent growth in cases among 20-to-29-year-olds is spreading to all age groups, "including low but increasing rates among children and teens." (In Eastern Washington, hospitalization rates are up among all age groups, per the report.)

In these trends, we are seeing the impact of our collective decisions, said Washington Secretary of Health John Wiesman in a news release. If we want to send our kids to school in the fall and avoid new restrictions, we must all make a conscious shift in the way we live our lives.

"That means staying at home as much as possible, reducing how many people we see in person and continuing to wear face coverings and keep physical distance in public.

Trevor Lenzmeier

State health officials confirmed 754 new COVID-19 cases in Washington on Friday, including seven new deaths, after reporting 1,267 new cases on Thursday a single-day record for the state.

The update brings the states totals to 45,067 cases and 1,434 deaths, meaning about 3.2% of people diagnosed with COVID-19 in Washington have died,according to the state Department of Health (DOH). The data is as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday.

So far, 767,657 tests for the novel coronavirus have been conducted in the state, per DOH. Of those, 5.9% have come back positive.

The state has confirmed 12,766 diagnoses and 631 deaths in King County, the state's most populous, accounting for about 44.4% of the state's death toll.

Trevor Lenzmeier

WASHINGTON (AP) Joe Biden on Friday unveiled a plan to reopen schools in the era of coronavirus, seeking to establish federal safety guidelines that he says will be based on science and not on political pressure for the country to arbitrarily put the pandemic behind it.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominees proposal ultimately leaves final decisions up to state and local officials. His guidelines to resume classes comes as the White House argues that most parents are anxious to see schools resume in-person classes in the fall. President Donald Trump says the decision to possibly avoid doing so in some areas is more motivated by politics than by legitimate fears about the pandemic.

They think its going to be good for them politically, so they keep the schools closed, Trump said at a White House discussion on school plans last week. No way. Were very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools.

Trump has also threatened to hold back federal funding if schools dont bring their students back in the fall and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working on new guidance for how to do so.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has advanced much the same argument as Biden, saying the decision to reopen schools should be driven by science but arguing that doing so means bringing students back to classrooms.

Read the full story here.

The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) With the first day of school just weeks away in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out sweeping new rules Friday that all but ensure most of the states K-12 schools serving 6.7 million students will not reopen classrooms when the academic year starts.

The rules also mandate that all staff and students above 2nd grade who do return to campuses wear masks in school as the coronavirus pandemic surges.

Newsom said all schools, public and private, in counties that are on a state monitoring list for rising coronavirus infections cannot hold in-person classes and will have to meet strict criteria for reopening. Currently, 32 of Californias 58 counties are on the watchlist, including the vast majority of the states population and its biggest cities, including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and many others

Students, teachers, staff and parents prefer in-class instruction. But only if we can do it safely, Newsom said during a televised briefing. The one thing we have the power to do to get our kids back into school? Wear a mask, physically distance, wash your hands.

The governors strict new regulations mark a dramatic shift from his earlier position that it was up to local school districts and boards to decide when and how to reopen. His announcement came as many of the states 1,000 school districts are set to resume instruction in mid-August, with many still finalizing reopening plans.

Read the full story here.

The Associated Press

Fresh studies give more information about what treatments do or dont work for COVID-19, with high-quality methods that give reliable results.

British researchers on Friday published their research on the only drug shown to improve survival a cheap steroid called dexamethasone. Two other studies found that the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine does not help people with only mild symptoms.

For months before studies like these, learning what helps or harms has been undermined by desperation science as doctors and patients tried therapies on their own or through a host of studies not strong enough to give clear answers.

For the field to move forward and for patients outcomes to improve, there will need to be fewer small or inconclusive studies and more like the British one, Drs. Anthony Fauci and H. Clifford Lane of the National Institutes of Health wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Its now time to do more studies comparing treatments and testing combinations, said Dr. Peter Bach, a health policy expert at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Read the highlights of recent treatment developments here.

The Associated Press

Detroit Public Schools invited students to in-person summer classes this week during the coronavirus pandemic and immediately faced demonstrations that wound up with some arrests of protesters and a lawsuit aiming to get the classes to shut down. The protesters said the district was using children as guinea pigs.

In Westwood, Mass., a summer school employee who didnt feel well tested negative for COVID-19 and returned to her job working with students with disabilities only to learn she really had the disease, WCBV reported. The Westwood Schools superintendent said in a statement that her exposure to students was limited to a three-hour block and noted that she was wearing personal protective equipment.

As school districts across the country struggle to make final plans about whether and how to open schools for the 2020-21 academic year, they are getting some real-time examples of what can happen when students return to school buildings.

Read the story here.

The Washington Post

On Thursday, Gov. Jay Inslee announced tighter restrictions on social gatherings that effectively halted the burgeoning trend of drive-in concerts.

Starting Monday, anew 10-person limit on gatheringswill be imposed on counties in the third phase of the governorsSafe Start reopening plan. The five-person limit for counties in Phase 2 including King, Pierce and Snohomish remains in place.

The new order wipes outseveral drive-in concertsthat had recently emerged as an alternative to traditional shows. However,drive-in movie theaterswill still be allowed to operate.

Read more here.

Michael Rietmulder

Americas mainstream medical establishments have given their endorsement: Universal masking is essential for the nation to find its way out of a crippling COVID-19 pandemic and get schools back in session and the economy restarted.

The data is clearly there, that masking works, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday in awebcastwith the Journal of the American Medical Association. If we could get everybody to wear a mask right now, I really do think that in the next four, six, eight weeks, we could bring this epidemic under control.

A CDCstudyreleased Tuesday said that by early May, a survey estimated that about 76% of American adults who left home in the previous week had used a cloth face covering.

Anotherreportby the CDC about two hairstylists at a salon in Missouri showcased masks remarkable effectiveness in preventing disease transmission.

The stylists fell ill with respiratory symptoms yet continued to work at the salon for several days, only to later test positive for the coronavirus.

The stylists served 139 clients while they were ill, typically spending 15 to 45 minutes with each of them. Yet not a single client was reported to have become sick, and none of those tested receive a positive test result. The reason? Scientists believe it was because both the hairstylists and their customers wore masks.

Here are four common myths about masks, debunked.

Read the story here.

Rong-Gong Lin II, Los Angeles Times

Most Chicago children would return to the classroom two days a week and spend the other three days learning remotely once the school year begins under a tentative plan outlined Friday by officials from the nations third-largest school district.

Chicago Public Schools officials called the proposed hybrid approach a preliminary framework, though, and asked parents, students and staff to weigh in. A final decision about in-person instruction for fall classes wont come until late August, with classes set to begin Sept. 8.

We have to be ready for any possibility, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. COVID-19 has been unpredictable from the start and we have a responsibility to be prepared for what the public health indicators dictate, whether that means remote learning, in-person learning or something in between.

The Chicago Teachers Union this week called on the district to stick with virtual instruction to start the fall.

Read the story here.

The Associated Press

The British government ordered an urgent review Friday into how daily coronavirus death figures in England are calculated amid claims the current method overestimates the tally.

The review was prompted by concerns over why England is still recording way more deaths than Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Researchers looked at whether differing methods may account for the discrepancy.

On some days recently, England has seen more than 100 daily virus-related deaths as opposed to none in the other parts of the U.K. As a whole, the U.K. has recorded a coronavirus death toll of 45,119, the third-highest in the world behind the United States and Brazil.

Read the story here.

The Associated Press

New York City is on track to allow zoos to open at limited capacity and allow professional sports to begin without spectators starting next week under the next phase of its reopening plan, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday.

While a formal approval from the state had yet to be announced, de Blasio said the city is set to begin a limited version of Phase 4 of the reopening process starting Monday.

That means botanical gardens and zoos can reopen at 33% capacity, production of movies and TV shows can proceed and professional sports like baseball can be played without fans in the stands, de Blasio said.

The rest of the state is already in Phase 4, which typically permits opening malls and certain arts and entertainment centers. But Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this week that even if the city is approved to enter Phase 4, the state wont allow any additional indoor activity in places like malls and museums because of coronavirus transmission risks.

Read the story here.

The Associated Press

At the start of one of the most daunting and divisive summits in recent history, the atmosphere among the European Union leaders was downright giddy.

Blame the coronavirus pandemic. With all kinds of masks, social distancing rules, and new ways of greetings, some of the leaders reveled in the novelty of it all as they met in person for the first time since February.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, so often a study in gravity at such meetings, was all merriment when she saw Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov with his mask slipped. With her face drawn in fake shock and horror, she pointed at his exposed nose to show he had committed a serious COVID-19 faux pas.

Other leaders at the summit in Belgium were trying out various versions of the elbow bump, with Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel almost turning it into an elbow duel. But there was no mistaking his good nature since he had Moien! the Luxembourgish for Good morning! printed on his mask.

The apparently carefree mingling and schmoozing disguised the reason they had all gathered in a cavernous Brussels meeting room instead of holding their summit by videoconference: The issues they are grappling with are so historic and divisive they need to look one another in the eye, and have face-to-face talks as they negotiate.

Since the pandemic hit Europe early this year, the EU has seen an unprecedented recession with the economy of the 27-nation EU contracting by 8.3% this year and lost 135,000 of its citizens to the disease.

Read the story here.

The Associated Press

With infection spreading through social gatherings, Oregon set yet another single-day record on Thursday with 437 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19, the Oregon Health Authority reported.

The latest daily tally, the highest since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, raised the states case count to 13,509. Two more deaths were reported on Thursday as well, raising Oregons death toll from the disease to 249. The dead, both from Malheur County, were a 97-year-old man with underlying medical conditions and a 58-year-old woman whose health conditions are being confirmed.

States all over the country have seen surging case counts since they began easing limits on gatherings and business operations. Washington state also reported a single-day record Thursday, with 1,267 new cases.

Read more here.

Bennett Hall, Albany Democrat-Herald, Ore.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp sued the city of Atlanta over its face-mask requirement just after President Donald Trump arrived in the city without wearing a mask, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said Friday.

In an interview on CBS This Morning, Bottoms questioned the timing of the lawsuit filed shortly after Trumps Wednesday visit to the city, calling the litigation really odd.

I pointed out that Donald Trump violated that order when he landed at our airport and did not wear a mask, she said.

She said Kemp is a Trump loyalist and he seems to work very hard to please the president of the United States, and that is often at the expense of the people in our state.

Asked whether she thinks Trump encouraged Kemp to file the lawsuit, she said she couldnt speak about whatever conversations they had.

But she added that Trump was violating the rules of our city in just a blatant disregard for the science.

Read the story here.

The Associated Press

A return of stringent coronavirus restrictions in Israel, another daily record of reported cases in Japans capital and outbreaks in remote areas such as Chinas Xinjiang region underscored Friday the ongoing battle to quash COVID-19 flare-ups as the worlds latest hot spots pushed the confirmed global case tally toward 14 million.

India said the countrys total confirmed cases surpassed 1 million, the third-highest number behind the United States and Brazil, and its death toll reached more than 25,000. That followed Brazils announcement Thursday evening that its confirmed cases exceeded 2 million, including 76,000 deaths.

Governments are frantically trying to prevent and put down fresh outbreaks and keep their economies running as the pandemic accelerates in some parts of the world and threatens to come roaring back in others. Worldwide, confirmed cases numbered more than 13.8 million Friday and COVID-19 deaths totaled more than 590,000.

Israel on Friday reimposed sweeping restrictions to tackle a new surge in coronavirus cases in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called interim steps to avoid another general lockdown.

Link:

Coronavirus daily news updates, July 17: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the world - Seattle Times

A new study suggests thatif wind instruments were covered in cloth, they could produce less of the particles that can carry the new coronavirus.

By Jason PlautzJul. 17, 2020 , 4:00 PM

Science's COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center and the Heising-Simons Foundation.

As U.S. schools and colleges debate how to reopen amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, band directors and musicians are wondering whenor whethermusic can be played safely. A new study finds that while musical instruments do generate airborne particles that could carry SARS-CoV-2, the risks for performers and audience may be manageable.

There is almost no research on whether musical instruments produce the airborne particlesor aerosolsthat can transmit the novel coronavirus. So its impossible to know whether keeping 2 meters away is enough to stay safe from a trumpet at full blast.

Without data, schools were already cutting band rehearsals out of fear, said Mark Spede, president of the College Band Directors National Association. Given the potential threat to music education and the livelihoods of musicians around the globe, Spedes group and the National Federation of High School State Associations raised about $275,000 from more than 100 arts groups to study the safety of performing during the pandemic.

Researchers at the University of Colorado, Boulder,had five student musiciansa soprano singer and clarinet, flute, French horn, and trumpet playersenter a clean room one at a time. The room was normally used for indoor air pollution research, and it was outfitted with tight seals, and multiple high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters remove almost all particles from the air.

The participants performed a short solo piece with a wide range of high and low notes and different styles of playing, including a smooth chorale and a staccato march. The players angled their instruments openings toward a series of tubes that feed into a trio of particle monitors that detected aerosols of different sizes. An imaging system also captured the airflow around the musicians to visualize where the particles moved.

The initial resultswhich were released online this week without peer reviewshowed for the first time thatthe instruments can produce aerosols in the range of sizes that can carry the COVID-19 virus. These aerosols can also stay airborne for long periods of time, and different instruments produced different amounts. For instance, the trumpet and clarinet, which run straighter from the mouthpiece to the instrument opening, had higher concentrations of aerosols.

To reduce the spread of aerosols, the researchers tested instrument covers, such as a cloth covering for the opening or a sack covering an entire clarinet; both effectively reduced aerosols, in some cases by half, without deadening their sound.

Another team at the University of Maryland, College Park,used computer models to examine whether an infected musician might spread the virus in different conditions. The modeling confirmed the importance of distancing to avoid infected plumes. It also suggested that conventional ventilation systems, where air supply and exhaust are both on the ceiling, are less effective than those in which the exhaust is on the floor.

The results add to recent work on airflow from instruments. A study in May had Vienna Philharmonic wind andstring musicians play after inhaling a mistthat is illuminated by headlights when exhaled. Another study, conducted this spring in Germany,tracked air flowfrom wind instruments. Both found that instruments produced less airflow than singing (although flutes produced more than other wind instruments).

Bernhard Richter, an otolaryngology specialist and co-director of the Freiburg Institute for Musicians' Medicine, who led the German study, says his teams initial results could inform safety recommendations. And he says the new aerosol work will offer even more sophisticated data. We don't know enough about aerosols and the critical issue of how they are spreading.

The researchers behind the aerosol study will now gather data from additional instruments, singers, dancers, and actors. Those could give a fuller picture of potential risks of performance and improve computer modeling on the effectiveness of distancing and air circulation, says Shelly Miller,an engineering professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who helped run the study.

Based on the initial findings, the organizations that funded the study recommend that indoor rehearsal rooms and performance venues use HEPA filters and increase circulation, and that musicians use instrument covers. They also recommend 2 meters of distancing and that performers face the same direction, which could limit band or orchestra size.

Miller says she hopes further data recommendations will let the band play on. Its heartbreaking to halt these activities because we dontknow if theyre hazardous or not.

Read the original:

Is it safe to strike up the band in a time of coronavirus? - Science Magazine

Climate pollution is making heat waves longer, hotter and more frequent. As communities throughout the United States face surges in COVID-19 infections, more intense heat is creating additional public health challenges, with sweltering conditions complicating efforts to contain the virus and leading to a cascade of difficult choices.

The current heat wave across the South and Southwest has seen heat warnings and advisories for at least 11 states, stretching from Southern California to the Florida Panhandle. Last weekend in Phoenix, temperatures hit a record high of 116 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday, July 12and were measured at or above 110 degrees for at least ten consecutive days.

This is part of a long-term upward trend in global temperatures caused by climate pollution. Over the last 60 years, each decade has been decisively warmer than the previous one. The number of deadly heat waves in 50 major cities across the U.S. has increased dramatically from an average of two heat waves per year during the 1960s, to more than six per year during the 2010s.

Now layer in a deadly pandemic.

Up to a quarter of all American households dont have access to air conditioning, and they are often the poor and the elderly, for whom coronavirus poses the greatest risk. Moving them to crowded cooling centers like public libraries, community centers and senior centers increases the likelihood of exposing and possibly killing those most vulnerable to the disease.

Consider, too, the millions of Americans who work outdoors who, for example, deliver mail or labor on highway construction crews as temperatures soar and heat waves worsen. These conditions set up an impossible choice between a persons health and the job that feeds their family.

Then there are the 25 million Americans with asthma: As temperatures climb and heat waves become more frequent, the metaphorical rope around their chests will tighten. Heat and humidity encourages mold growth and seasonal pollen, which are asthma triggers. On very hot days, the problem of ozone pollution which happens when heat and sunlight combine with pollutants to create ozone also increases. Ozone causes damage to everything from human lungs to crop yields. While this is especially worrisome for people with asthma and related illnesses, ozone is bad for all peoples health, triggering problems including chest pain and coughing. It can also harm lung tissue and reduce lung function, which is especially worrisome amid the threat of COVID-19, which itself can cause serious lung damage.

Because the burden of asthma is strongly related to social and economic status, access to health care and exposure to environmental triggers, the most vulnerable are most at risk here, too. African Americans, Latinos, and the poorparticularly poor childrenhave a higher incidence of the illness.

If you think putting up with a spell of hot weather is not a big deal, look at recent history. In France, record heat waves in June and July 2019 killed more than 1,400 people. In India, an intense heat wave in 2015 killed more than 2,300 people and had temperatures hot enough to melt pavement in New Delhi.

All across the United States, temperatures are climbing. According to a study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, the number of days in Minnesota with a heat index above 90 degrees could quadruple by around mid-century if no action is taken to climate pollution. And in Florida, the average number of days when the heat index is 105 degrees or higher is projected to increase more than five times by then from 25 dangerous heat days a year to 130 more than any other state.

There are also agricultural and economic impacts. Rising temperatures increase the likelihood of droughts and spread insect borne diseases. They will also have a profound impact on outdoor recreation and sports heat is already a leading cause of death and disability among high school athletes.

We have to tackle both health threats defeating the immediate threat of COVID-19, while also dramatically reducing the pollution thats heating up the planet. That means transitioning to clean energy, electrifying transportation, putting limits on pollution and prioritizing communities that carry the highest burden and health disparities.

As we move to repair the COVID-battered economy, we have a chance to make it better than it was before. In the U.S., we can rebuild better by investing in clean energy to create more jobs and less pollution. In doing so, well reduce shocks to the system from the global pandemic to devastating heat waves made worse by climate change.

Its time to act.

See the original post here:

The coronavirus crisis was already bad. Extreme heat waves are making it worse. - Environmental Defense Fund

While the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says there's no evidence that animals play a significant role in spreading the virus, there have been reports of pets being infected.

And since the coronavirus is believed to have infected wild animals before jumping to humans, this is an area scientists need to learn more about in an effort to control the spread of Covid-19 and future illnesses.

Covid-19 was found in three of 11 cats at one mink farm, and the government said cats may play a role in the spread of the virus between farms.

At a farm in Teruel, Spain, 92,700 mink are to be culled after 78 of 90 animals tested were found to have the coronavirus -- 87% of the sample.

Can I catch coronavirus from my pet?

The CDC says the risk of animals spreading Covid-19 to people is "considered to be low" and the agency does not recommend routine testing of pets.

A YouTube video released by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in mid-June said that "it doesn't seem like animals can give you the virus," although you may be able to give it to them.

Since animals can spread other diseases to humans, it's always best to wash your hands after touching a pet and before touching your face.

Didn't the coronavirus originate in wild animals?

Researchers believe the coronavirus spent some time infecting both bats and pangolins before it jumped into humans. Scientists suspect humans first came into contact with an animal sick with the disease at a wet market in China.

What is clear is that the coronavirus has swapped genes repeatedly with similar strains infecting bats, pangolins and a possible third species, a team at Duke University, Los Alamos National Laboratory and elsewhere reported in the journal Science Advances in May.

What's also clear is that people need to reduce contact with wild animals that can transmit new infections, they concluded.

How can I protect my pet from Covid-19?

Consider avoiding dog parks and other crowded public places, the FDA advises. The six-foot distancing rule applies to leashed pets, as well as to other people.

The FDA also suggests avoiding contact with animals if you are sick -- if possible, have someone else care for your pet until you're well again, or wear a face covering around them.

If your pet gets sick after contact with a person with Covid-19, call your veterinarian and find out about telemedicine consultations or other plans for seeing pets.

Animal rights groups warned that a bigger risk than the spread of the virus from animals to humans is the "spread of fear" causing owners to abandon their pets.

Should this change how we behave around animals?

Fur farms such as those where the mink outbreaks occurred are banned in many countries because of concerns around animal welfare and ethics.

Research published in Science Advances warned that humans are setting ourselves up to be infected with new viruses by operating "wet markets" where many different species of live animals are caged and sold, and by moving deeper into forests where animals live.

They said "reducing or eliminating direct human contact with wild animals is critical to preventing new coronavirus zoonosis [transmission from animals to humans] in the future."

Jane Goodall, the pioneering chimpanzee expert, said she hoped that the coronavirus would make us reflect on our relationship with the natural world.

She said humans had "disrespected" nature and animals, "and as we destroy the forests and the habitats, species which normally wouldn't interact have been crowded together" and have been forced into closer contact with humans.

Goodall noted that HIV originated with the hunting of chimpanzees, that Middle East respiratory syndrome -- another coronavirus -- comes from camels, and that modern farming practices create ideal conditions for a virus to jump from an animal to a human. The climate crisis could also bring further problems and more diseases.

"So, let's hope we come out of the pandemic and can work out together, a greener future economy, and a better way to live in harmony with the natural world," Goodall said, "for the sake of the environment, animals, our own health and future generations."

CNN's Maggie Fox, Laura Prez Maestro, Mick Kerver, Rob Picheta and Jen Christensen contributed reporting.

See more here:

From farmed mink to your pet cat, here's what we know about coronavirus and animals - CNN

The reopening and relaxing of social distancing restrictions in some states may be contributing to the first noticeable nationwide increase in coronavirus fatalities since April, when the pandemic initially peaked.

The number of cases in late June surged higher than during the outbreaks first peak. At this same time, daily Covid-19 fatalities decreased slightly, leading President Trump to proclaim that deaths were way down. But that divergence may have come to an end last week, when the average number of new deaths per day began steadily rising again.

Where deaths have increased since June 1

Daily new deaths since June 1

States where deaths have increased since June 1

Daily new deaths since June 1, seven-day average

Note: Data as of July 15.

Public health experts have pointed to a few factors that help explain why the death count was initially flat. Treatment has improved and young people, who are less likely to die from Covid-19, make up a larger share of new cases.

Additionally, more widespread testing means cases are caught sooner, on average. That means that the lag between diagnosis and death would be longer than in March, when tests were in critically short supply.

That lag may have come to an end last week, as the number of new deaths began to rise. Many of the states that reopened early are the ones seeing the biggest increases, while New York, the countrys hardest-hit city, has seen a 64 percent drop since June 1.

Deaths in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut

Deaths in rest of the United States

While the growth rate of new deaths has flattened slightly in the past few days, data suggest that the recent increase in deaths may continue. Most of the states seeing the sharpest increase in deaths also have some of the countrys highest positive test rates, as well as soaring hospitalization rates, an indicator that many more residents may be gravely ill.

In addition, a high share of positive tests most likely signals that there are a larger number of people whose infections are going undetected in a states official numbers.

Sources: New York Times database from state and local governments; the Covid-19 Tracking ProjectNote: Data is as of July 15, 2020. States listed above have a minimum of 100 cumulative deaths. Positive test rates are calculated using positive results from July 2 to July 15. Trend lines and new deaths per million show seven-day average data.

Excerpt from:

After the Recent Surge in Coronavirus Cases, Deaths Are Now Rising Too - The New York Times

Researchers on Tuesday reported strong evidence that the coronavirus can be transmitted from a pregnant woman to a fetus.

A baby born in a Paris hospital in March to a mother with Covid-19 tested positive for the virus and developed symptoms of inflammation in his brain, said Dr. Daniele De Luca, who led the research team and is chief of the division of pediatrics and neonatal critical care at Paris-Saclay University Hospitals. The baby, now more than 3 months old, recovered without treatment and is very much improved, almost clinically normal, Dr. De Luca said, adding that the mother, who needed oxygen during the delivery, is healthy.

Dr. De Luca said the virus appeared to have been transmitted through the placenta of the 23-year-old mother.

Since the pandemic began, there have been isolated cases of newborns who have tested positive for the coronavirus, but there has not been enough evidence to rule out the possibility that the infants became infected by the mother after they were born, experts said. A recently published case in Texas, of a newborn who tested positive for Covid-19 and had mild respiratory symptoms, provided more convincing evidence that transmission of the virus during pregnancy can occur.

In the Paris case, Dr. De Luca said, the team was able to test the placenta, amniotic fluid, cord blood, and the mothers and babys blood.

The testing indicated that the virus reaches the placenta and replicates there, Dr. De Luca said. It can then be transmitted to a fetus, which can get infected and have symptoms similar to adult Covid-19 patients.

A study of the case was published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.

Dr. Yoel Sadovsky, executive director of Magee-Womens Research Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, who was not involved in the study, said he thought the claim of placental transmission was fairly convincing. He said the relatively high levels of the coronavirus found in the placenta and the rising levels of virus in the baby and the evidence of placental inflammation, along with the babys symptoms, are all consistent with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Still, Dr. Sadovsky said, it is important to note that cases of possible coronavirus transmission in utero appear to be extremely rare. With other viruses, including Zika and rubella, placental infection and transmission is much more common, he said. With the coronavirus, he said, we are trying to understand the opposite what underlies the relative protection of the fetus and the placenta?

Another study published on Tuesday in eLife, an online research journal, may help answer that question. It found that while cells in the placenta had many of the receptor proteins that allow viruses to propagate, there was evidence of only negligible amounts of a key cell surface receptor and an enzyme that are known to be involved in allowing the coronavirus to enter cells and replicate. The study was led by Dr. Robert Romero, chief of the perinatology research branch at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

The report from doctors in Paris said that the woman was 35 weeks pregnant when she came to the hospital with a fever and a cough that she developed a couple of days earlier in what was an otherwise healthy pregnancy. She tested positive for the coronavirus. After three days, fetal heart monitoring indicated signs of distress, and the baby was delivered by emergency cesarean section.

The baby was placed in the neonatal intensive care unit and was connected to a ventilator for about six hours, the authors reported. He seemed to be doing well, but on his third day he became irritable, had trouble feeding and was experiencing muscle spasms and rigidity.

A brain scan showed some injury to the white matter, which Dr. De Luca said resembled symptoms of meningitis or inflammation in the brain. He tested negative for other viruses or bacterial infections that could have caused such symptoms, while tests of his blood and fluid from his lungs were positive for coronavirus infection, the authors said. The baby gradually recovered and left the hospital after 18 days.

The authors said that the highest levels of the coronavirus were found in the placenta, higher than those in the amniotic fluid and in the blood of the mother and baby, which Dr. De Luca said suggested that the virus might be able to replicate in placental cells.

Dr. De Luca, who is also the president-elect of the European Society for Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care, said his team was analyzing other suspected cases of placental transmission of the coronavirus.

This will be helpful for clinicians and policymakers in order to manage pregnant women, check neonates and reduce the risk of viral transmission from mothers to neonates, he said, adding, The good news is that the baby recovered spontaneously and gradually despite all this, and this confirms that the disease is milder in early infancy.

Link:

Baby Was Infected With Coronavirus in Womb, Study Reports - The New York Times

The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice on Friday announced plans for how they will resume hearings for asylum seekers currently in the Migrant Protection Protocols after court dates were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program, also called remain in Mexico, requires that most asylum seekers wait in Mexico for their court dates in front of an American immigration judges. Since the MPP program began in late 2018, more than 60,000 asylum seekers have been sent back to Mexico, including more than 20,000 in the El Paso-Ciudad Jurez area.

It will likely take weeks for the criteria to resume hearings to be met. For Texas it means the state must achieve reopening at a level designated as stage three by Gov. Greg Abbott. The state had reached that level, Abbott announced, when he allowed restaurants to expand their occupancy to 75% capacity and bars to operate at 50% capacity. But hes since rolled back capacity at eateries and closed bars completely after Texas and more than a dozen states began experiencing surges of cases after reopening.

In order to resume MPP hearings in a responsible manner that will minimize risk to public health and the spread of disease, DHS plans to adhere to recommended federal guidance and protocols, including in particular the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions social-distancing and sanitization standards, the DHS and U.S. Department of Justice said in a joint statement. DHS is working to secure the equipment and resources necessary to support this safe resumption of MPP hearings.

In addition to the state guidelines, the DHS said it will also wait for the U.S. Department of State and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to lower their global health advisories to Level 2. The State Department is currently at Level 4, which advises U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19, and the CDC is at Level 3, which recommends the same guidance.

Mexico must also achieve yellow status for the states that border the United States, which include Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, Chihuahua on the Texas border and Sonora and Baja California to the west. Yellow status means most business and places are open but residents are still urged to practice caution with an emphasis on the countrys vulnerable population. As of Wednesday, about half the country was one level higher at orange, and the rest of the states at red, the highest in the system, the Associated Press reported.

Once those metrics are achieved, the DHS said it will will develop detailed, location-specific plans to safely resume MPP hearings consistent with CDC guidelines, according to the statement. Once the criteria are met, the Departments will provide public notification at least fifteen calendar days prior to resumption of the hearings with location-specific details.

Face masks will also be required for immigrants and other visitors, and temperature checks will be conducted. If a court room has reached capacity, hearings will be rescheduled, according to the guidance.

Even before the pandemic struck the globe, the MPP program was widely criticized by immigration attorneys and advocates who said it placed thousands of vulnerable asylum seekers at risk of violence in Mexican border cities that have seen sustained or increased bloodshed in border states. Attorneys have also argued that the program makes proper representation nearly impossible because they cant communicate with clients in migrant shelters or, in more dire cases, asylum seekers who have no place to stay. They argue that instead of returning the migrants to Mexico, they should instead be paroled into the United States and places with family members already living in the country. Despite multiple lawsuits aimed at stopping the program, district courts have allowed it to proceed.

Read more from the original source:

Remain in Mexico, or MPP, hearings will continue during coronavirus - The Texas Tribune

The West Virginia Department of Health andHuman Resources (DHHR)reports as of 5:00 p.m., on July 17, 2020, there have been 222,427 totalconfirmatorylaboratory results received for COVID-19, with 4,783 totalcases and 100 deaths.

Inalignment with updated definitions from the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention, the dashboard includes probable cases which are individuals that havesymptoms and either serologic (antibody) or epidemiologic (e.g., a link to aconfirmed case) evidence of disease, but no confirmatory test.

CASESPER COUNTY (Case confirmed by lab test/Probable case):Barbour (24/0), Berkeley (539/19), Boone(53/0), Braxton (6/0), Brooke (35/1), Cabell (207/7), Calhoun (4/0), Clay(15/0), Fayette (98/0), Gilmer (13/0), Grant (21/1), Greenbrier (76/0),Hampshire (46/0), Hancock (51/3), Hardy (48/1), Harrison (133/1), Jackson(149/0), Jefferson (262/5), Kanawha (472/12), Lewis (24/1), Lincoln (19/0),Logan (42/0), Marion (124/3), Marshall (77/1), Mason (26/0), McDowell (12/0),Mercer (68/0), Mineral (69/2), Mingo (48/2), Monongalia (654/15), Monroe(14/1), Morgan (19/1), Nicholas (19/1), Ohio (173/0), Pendleton (18/1),Pleasants (4/1), Pocahontas (37/1), Preston (90/24), Putnam (99/1), Raleigh(92/3), Randolph (196/2), Ritchie (3/0), Roane (12/0), Summers (2/0), Taylor(26/1), Tucker (7/0), Tyler (10/0), Upshur (31/2), Wayne (144/2), Webster(2/0), Wetzel (40/0), Wirt (6/0), Wood (192/10), Wyoming (7/0).

Ascase surveillance continues at the local health department level, it may revealthat those tested in a certain county may not be a resident of that county, oreven the state as an individual in question may have crossed the state borderto be tested. Such is the case of Harrison and Ohiocounties in this report.

Please note that delays may be experiencedwith the reporting of information from the local health department to DHHR.

Please visit the dashboard at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more detailed information.

Additional report:

To increaseCOVID-19 testing opportunities, the Governor's Office, the Herbert HendersonOffice of Minority Affairs, WV Department of Health and Human Resources, WVNational Guard, local health departments, and community partners today providedfree COVID-19 testing for residents in counties with high minority populationsand evidence of COVID-19 transmission.

Todays testing resulted in 914 individuals tested: 279 inBerkeley County; 416 in Jefferson County; and 219 in Mercer County. Please notethese are considered preliminary numbers.

Testingwill be held tomorrow in Berkeley, Jefferson and Monongalia counties in these locations.

Continued here:

COVID-19 Daily Update 7-17-2020 - 5 PM - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

India has become the third country to record more than 1m coronavirus infections, following the US and Brazil, as it reported 34,956 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking the national total to 1,003,832.

New peaks continue to appear around the world, including an alarming rise in the Brittany region of France.

Amid evidence that the disease was taking hold in poorer, rural areas of India with less effective public healthcare, the latest tally prompted renewed concerns about the countrys ability to cope with rising infections.

The figures have been released after a week in which authorities in India were forced to impose new lockdowns, including fresh restrictions on 128 million people in the state of Bihar, which came into force on Thursday.

The continuing and escalating outbreaks, on top of record cases in the United States which passed 75,000 daily cases in the last count have dampened hopes that the pandemic is anywhere close to being brought under control, even as researchers race to find a viable vaccine.

Three states in India Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu account for more than half of the total cases in the country so far. Ashish Jha, the director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, warned that the majority of cases in the country were still being missed.

The continuing rise has forced authorities to reinstate lockdowns in some cities and states.

In Bangalore, the government ordered a week-long lockdown that began on Tuesday evening after a rapid rise in cases.

Dr Anant Bhan, a global health researcher, said India was likely to experience a series of peaks as the virus spread in rural areas. He said the capital, New Delhi, and the financial capital, Mumbai, had already recorded surges, while infections have now shifted to smaller cities.

Indias response to the virus was initially sluggish, but on 24 March the prime minister, Narendra Modi, imposed a three-week nationwide lockdown of its 1.3-billion population.

By Friday more than 13.8m infections had been confirmed worldwide and nearly 590,000 people had died, according to Johns Hopkins University, with Brazil recording more than 2m infections by the end of the week and the US more than 3m.

Countries around the world have moved quickly to reintroduce restrictions as outbreaks flare up again. Ada Colau, the mayor of Barcelona, Spains second largest city, announced a ban on gatherings of more than 10 people from Saturday as part of a package of measures to curb an increase in coronavirus cases in the Catalan capital.

We have to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people Only 10 people will be allowed in weddings and funerals from Saturday, Colau told a press conference. Residents were urged to shop online and cultural and sports events will also be limited.

In France, which had already announced plans to make mask wearing mandatory in enclosed public spaces, authorities reported a sharp rise in the infection rate in Brittany. According to data released on Friday, the diseases reproduction rate in Brittany had risen from 0.92 to 2.62 between 10-14 July.

Its a worrying number because it means the epidemic is taking off again, Eric Caumes, an infectious disease specialist at the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital in Paris, told BFM TV.

In China, flights into the city of rmqi in the far-western Xinjiang region were restricted on Friday, and underground and public bus services suspended, according to local social media.

The latest outbreak has underlined the continuing difficulty China faces in stamping out the virus even with its imposition of draconian measures which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.

Amid fears around the world over the ease in which new resurgences have escalated after countries relaxed restrictions, Hong Kong reported 50 new locally transmitted cases on Friday, stoking further concern about a third peak of infections in the global financial hub.

Tokyo hit a daily high of 293 infections as Japan tried to keep the worlds third-largest economy running while curbing infections, a precarious balancing act of opening restaurants and theatres with limited seating, and having store clerks work behind plastic shielding.

We have asked people and businesses to raise their alert levels, said Tokyos governor, Yuriko Koike. She said the recent higher numbers partly reflected more aggressive testing.

See the rest here:

Global report: coronavirus infections in India pass 1m as outbreaks flare globally - The Guardian

We rated 20 coronavirus treatments for effectiveness and safety:

We rated 20 coronavirus treatments

for effectiveness and safety:

We rated 20 coronavirus treatments

for effectiveness and safety:

The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the greatest challenges modern medicine has ever faced. Doctors and scientists are scrambling to find treatments and drugs that can save the lives of infected people and perhaps even prevent infection.

Below is an updated list of 20 of the most-talked-about treatments for the coronavirus, including some of the most promising, interesting and potentially harmful. We also included a warning about a few that are just bunk.

The F.D.A. has not fully licensed any treatment specifically for the coronavirus, but it has granted emergency use authorization to a few.

For the current status of vaccine development, see our Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker.

We rate each treatment based on the scientific evidence for its effectiveness and safety. Well update and expand the list as more evidence emerges.

STRONG EVIDENCE: The treatment has been demonstrated to be effective and safe, either through a robust clinical trial or widespread use by doctors. The strongest trials are randomized controlled trials, in which some people get a treatment and others get a placebo.

PROMISING EVIDENCE: Early evidence from studies on patients suggests effectiveness, but more research is needed. This category includes treatments that have shown improvements in morbidity, mortality and recovery in retrospective studies, which look at existing datasets rather than starting a new trial.

TENTATIVE OR MIXED EVIDENCE: Some treatments show promising results in cells or animals, which need to be confirmed in people. Other treatments have produced different results in different experiments, raising the need for larger, more rigorously designed studies to clear up the confusion.

NOT PROMISING: These treatments show mixed evidence that suggests that they do not work.

INEFFECTIVE AND POSSIBLY HARMFUL: These treatments were once seriously considered for Covid-19 but have not held up under scientific scrutiny, proving to be ineffective or even harmful.

PSEUDOSCIENCE OR FRAUD: These are not treatments that researchers have ever considered using for Covid-19. Experts have warned against trying them, because they do not help against the disease and can instead be dangerous. Some people have even been arrested for their false promises of a Covid-19 cure.

All treatmentsStrongPromisingTentative or mixedNot promisingIneffectivePseudoscience

Antivirals can stop viruses such as H.I.V. and hepatitis C from hijacking our cells. Scientists are searching for antivirals that work against the new coronavirus.

STRONG EVIDENCEEMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATIONRemdesivirRemdesivir, made by Gilead Science, was the first drug to get emergency authorization from the F.D.A. for use on Covid-19. It stops viruses from replicating by inserting itself into new viral genes. Remdesivir was originally tested as an antiviral against Ebola and Hepatitis C, only to deliver lackluster results. But preliminary data from trials that began this spring suggested the drug can reduce the hospital stays of people with severe cases of Covid-19 from 15 to 11 days. These early results did not show any effect on mortality, though retrospective data released in July hints that the drug might reduce death rates among those who are very ill.

TENTATIVE OR MIXED EVIDENCEFavipiravirOriginally designed to beat back influenza, favipiravir blocks a viruss ability to copy its genetic material. A small study in March indicated the drug might help purge the coronavirus from the airway, but results from larger, well-designed clinical trials are still pending.

TENTATIVE OR MIXED EVIDENCEEIDD-2801Another antiviral originally designed to fight the flu, EIDD-2801 has had promising results against the new coronavirus in studies in cells and on animals. It is still being tested in humans.

TENTATIVE OR MIXED EVIDENCERecombinant ACE-2To enter cells, the coronavirus must first unlock them a feat it accomplishes by latching onto a human protein called ACE-2. Scientists have created artificial ACE-2 proteins which might be able to act as decoys, luring the coronavirus away from vulnerable cells. Recombinant ACE-2 proteins have shown promising results in experiments on cells, but not yet in animals or people.

NOT PROMISINGLopinavir and ritonavirTwenty years ago, the F.D.A. approved this combination of drugs to treat H.I.V. Recently, researchers tried them out on the new coronavirus and found that they stopped the virus from replicating. But clinical trials in patients proved disappointing. In early July, the World Health Organization suspended trials on patients hospitalized for Covid-19. But they didnt rule out studies to see if the drugs could help patients not sick enough to be hospitalized, or to prevent people exposed to the new coronavirus from falling ill. The drug could also still have a role to play in certain combination treatments.

NOT PROMISINGHydroxychloroquine and chloroquineGerman chemists synthesized chloroquine in the 1930s as a drug against malaria. A less toxic version, called hydroxychloroquine, was invented in 1946, and later was approved for other diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, researchers discovered that both drugs could stop the coronavirus from replicating in cells. Since then, theyve had a tumultuous ride through the first few months of the pandemic. A few small studies on patients offered some hope that hydroxychloroquine could treat Covid-19. The World Health Organization launched a randomized clinical trial in March to see if it was indeed safe and effective for Covid-19, as did Novartis and a number of universities.

Meanwhile, President Trump repeatedly promoted hydroxychloroquine at press conferences, touting it as a game changer, and even took it himself. The F.D.A. temporarily granted hydroxychloroquine emergency authorization for use in Covid-19 patients which a whistleblower later claimed was the result of political pressure. In the wake of the drugs newfound publicity, demand spiked, resulting in shortages for people who rely on hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for other diseases.

When data emerged from the randomized clinical trials, the message was clear: hydroxychloroquine didnt help people with Covid-19 get better or prevent healthy people from contracting the coronavirus. (One large-scale study that concluded the drug was harmful as well was later retracted.) The World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health and Novartis have since halted trials investigating hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for Covid-19, and the F.D.A. revoked its emergency approval. The F.D.A. now warns that the drug can cause a host of serious side effects to the heart and other organs when used to treat Covid-19.

In July, researchers at Henry Ford hospital in Detroit published a study finding that hydroxychloroquine reduced mortality in Covid-19 patients. President Trump praised the study on Twitter, but experts raised doubts about it because it was not a randomized controlled trial. Still, the White House has initiated a push for the F.D.A. to reauthorize hydroxychloroquine as an emergency Covid-19 treatment.

Despite negative results, a number of hydroxychloroquine trials have continued. A recent analysis by STAT and Applied XL found more than 180 ongoing clinical trials testing hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, for treating or preventing Covid-19. Although its clear the drugs are no panacea, its possible they could work in combination with other treatments, or when given in early stages of the disease.

Most people who get Covid-19 successfully fight off the virus with a strong immune response. Drugs might help people who cant mount an adequate defense.

PROMISING EVIDENCEEMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATIONConvalescent plasmaA century ago, doctors filtered plasma from the blood of recovered flu patients. So-called convalescent plasma, rich with antibodies, helped people sick with flu fight their illness. Now researchers are trying out this strategy on Covid-19. Early trials with convalescent plasma have yielded promising, if preliminary, results, and the F.D.A. has authorized its use on very sick patients infected by the coronavirus.

TENTATIVE OR MIXED EVIDENCEREGN-COV2 and other monoclonal antibodiesConvalescent plasma contains a mix of different antibodies, some of which can attack the coronavirus, and some of which cant. Researchers have been sifting through the slurry for the most potent antibodies against Covid-19. Synthetic copies of these molecules, known as monoclonal antibodies, can be manufactured in bulk and then injected into patients. Safety trials for this treatment have only just begun, with several more on the way.

TENTATIVE OR MIXED EVIDENCEInterferonsInterferons are molecules our cells naturally produce in response to viruses, rousing the immune system to attack. Injecting synthetic interferons is now a standard treatment for a number of immune disorders. Rebif, for example, is prescribed for multiple sclerosis. Early studies, including experiments in mice and cells, hint that injecting interferons may help against Covid-19. Theres even some evidence that the molecules could help prevent healthy people from getting infected.

The most severe symptoms of Covid-19 are the result of the immune systems overreaction to the virus. Scientists are testing drugs that can rein in its attack.

STRONG EVIDENCEDexamethasoneThis cheap and widely available steroid blunts many types of immune responses. Doctors have long used it to treat allergies, asthma and inflammation. In June, it became the first drug shown to reduce Covid-19 deaths. That study of more than 6,000 people, which has not yet been published in a scientific journal, found that dexamethasone reduced deaths by one-third in patients on ventilators, and by one-fifth in patients on oxygen. It may be less likely to help and may even harm patients who are at an earlier stage of Covid-19 infections, however. In its Covid-19 treatment guidelines, the National Institutes of Health recommends only using dexamethasone in patients with COVID-19 who are on a ventilator or are receiving supplemental oxygen.

PROMISING EVIDENCEEMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATIONCytosorbCytosorb is a cartridge that filters immune-signalling molecules called cytokines from the blood. Although cytokines are essential for fighting off diseases, they can sometimes trigger a runaway response. The body produces so much inflammation that it damages itself. By removing excess cytokines, Cytosorb may be able to cool this so-called cytokine storm. The machine can purify a patients entire blood supply about 70 times in a 24-hour period. It was granted emergency use authorization by the F.D.A. for Covid-19 after reports in March suggested that it had helped dozens of severely ill Covid-19 patients in Europe and China. Many clinical trials evaluating the devices effectiveness against Covid-19 are now underway.

TENTATIVE OR MIXED EVIDENCECytokine InhibitorsResearchers have created a number of drugs that can potentially halt cytokine storms, and have proven effective against arthritis and other inflammatory disorders. Some turn off the supply of molecules that launch the production of the cytokines themselves. Others block the receptors on immune cells to which cytokines would normally bind. A few block the cellular messages they send. Against the coronavirus, several of these drugs, including tocilizumab, sarilumab and anakinra, have offered modest help in some trials, but faltered in others. The drug company Regeneron recently announced that a branded version of sarilumab, Kevzara, failed Phase 3 clinical trials.

TENTATIVE OR MIXED EVIDENCEStem cellsCertain kinds of stem cells can secrete anti-inflammatory molecules. Over the years, researchers have tried to use them as a treatment for cytokine storms, and now dozens of clinical trials are under way to see if they can help patients with Covid-19. But these stem cell treatments havent worked well in the past, and its not clear yet if theyll work against the coronavirus.

Caregivers can physically adjust a patients body to help weather Covid-19.

STRONG EVIDENCEProne positioningThe simple act of flipping Covid-19 patients onto their bellies opens up the lungs. The maneuver has become commonplace in hospitals around the world since the start of the pandemic. It might help some individuals avoid the need for ventilators entirely. The treatments benefits continue to be tested in a range of clinical trials.

STRONG EVIDENCEEMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATIONVentilators and other respiratory support devicesDevices that help people breathe are an essential tool in the fight against deadly respiratory illnesses. Some patients do well if they get an extra supply of oxygen through the nose or via a mask connected to an oxygen machine. Patients in severe respiratory distress may need to have a ventilator breathe for them until their lungs heal. Doctors are divided about how long to treat patients with noninvasive oxygen before deciding whether or not they need a ventilator. Not all Covid-19 patients who go on ventilators survive, but the devices are thought to be lifesaving in many cases.

Covid-19 can harm not just the lungs, but other parts of the body. Researchers are searching for ways to block or reverse this devastation.

STRONG EVIDENCEEnoxaparin and other anticoagulantsThe coronavirus can invade cells in the lining of blood vessels, leading to tiny clots that can cause strokes and other serious harm. Breaking up these clots with anticoagulants, which have long been used on patients with various heart conditions, improves the prospects of seriously ill patients. Early data has linked the use of anticoagulants to survival among Covid-19 patients, and many clinical trials teasing out this relationship are now underway.

PROMISING EVIDENCERenal replacement therapyAbout one in five people with Covid-19 who are admitted to the ICU suffer from acute kidney injury. Its not clear yet why possibilities include the coronavirus infecting kidney cells or the immune system attacking the kidneys with a cytokine storm. In its guidelines for treating Covid-19, the National Institutes recommends filtering toxins from the blood with dialysis or other forms of renal replacement therapy. But they warn that few studies have yet been carried out to determine the best treatment for damaged kidneys.

False claims about Covid-19 cures abound. The F.D.A. maintains a list of more than 80 fraudulent Covid-19 products, and the W.H.O. debunks many myths about the disease.

WARNING: DO NOT DO THISDrinking or injecting bleach and disinfectantsIn April, President Trump suggested that disinfectants such as alcohol or bleach might be effective against the coronavirus if directly injected into the body. His comments were immediately refuted by health professionals and researchers around the world as well as the makers of Lysol and Clorox. Ingesting disinfectant would not only be ineffective against the virus, but also hazardous possibly even deadly. In July, Federal prosecutors charged four Florida men with marketing bleach as a cure for COVID-19.

WARNING: NO EVIDENCEUV lightPresident Trump also speculated about hitting the body with ultraviolet or just very powerful light. Researchers have used UV light to sterilize surfaces, including killing viruses, in carefully managed laboratories. But UV light would not be able to purge the virus from within a sick persons body. This kind of radiation can also damage the skin. Most skin cancers are a result of exposure to the UV rays naturally present in sunlight.

WARNING: NO EVIDENCESilverThe F.D.A. has threatened legal action against a host of people claiming silver-based products are safe and effective against Covid-19 including televangelist Jim Bakker and InfoWars host Alex Jones. Several metals do have natural antimicrobial properties. But products made from them have not been shown to prevent or treat the coronavirus.

Treatment ratings will be updated as new evidence emerges. We cannot list every possible treatment. For more details on evaluating treatments, see the N.I.H. Covid-19 Treatment Guidelines.

Note: The tracker rates individual treatments, but doctors are also testing a number of combination treatments.

Sources: National Library of Medicine; National Institutes of Health; Paul Knoepfler, University of California, Davis; Phyllis Tien, University of California, San Francisco; John Moore and Douglas Nixon, Weill Cornell Medical College.

Read more:

Coronavirus Drug and Treatment Tracker - The New York Times