Category: Corona Virus

More than 700 new coronavirus cases were reported in the Amarillo region Saturday, as results from targeted testing at meatpacking plants came in.

According to the office of the governor, a surge response team was deployed in Amarillo on May 4 to survey high-risk locations and test workers at meatpacking plants. The Texas Panhandle, where a workforce of Hispanics and immigrants power several meatpacking plants, is home to the highest rates of infection in the state.

"As Texas continues ramping up its testing capabilities, there will be an increase in positive cases as the state targets the most high-risk areas: nursing homes, meatpacking plants and jails," Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement. "By immediately deploying resources and supplies to these high risk areas, we will identify the positive cases, isolate the individuals and ensure any outbreak is quickly contained."

In a press release Saturday, the governors office indicated plants with widespread outbreaks have temporarily shut down for thorough disinfection.

At a Tyson Foods plant just outside of Amarillo, all 3,587 employees were tested, according to High Plains Public Radio. The plant is undergoing additional sanitation and cleaning during the weekend and plans to operate on Monday, according to the company.

The Amarillo region includes two counties. Potter County reported 618 new cases on Saturday bringing its total to 2,080, while Randall County reported 116 new cases for a total of 593. Moore County, which has the highest rate of cases per 1,000 residents in Texas and is north of Amarillo, added 4 new cases on Saturday. In total, the three counties accounted for 738 of the 1,801 new cases reported on Saturday.

Across the country, the coronavirus has spread easily in meatpacking plants, where workers typically stand shoulder to shoulder on fast-moving butchering lines. More than a dozen have been forced to shut down temporarily after surges in infections and deaths tied to those facilities. The processing plants, including those in Texas, have scrambled to ramp up health and safety precautions, providing masks and eye protection to workers and placing plastic dividers in some areas.

In Moore County, a JBS Beef plant has seen several cases and one death. On Wednesday, the company reversed course and accepted the offer from the state to test employees in their facilities.

Workers at JBS and family members of JBS employees who have been infected previously told The Texas Tribune that plant management was slow to acknowledge when workers began testing positive, and those who come in contact with the sick are not always informed of their exposure.

Alexa Ura contributed to this report.

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More than 700 new cases of coronavirus reported in Amarillo region - The Texas Tribune

The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday granted emergency clearance for a coronavirus testing kit that will enable individuals to take a nasal sample at home and send it to a laboratory for diagnostic testing, the second such approval it has made.

Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, director of the agencys Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement that the new test not only provides increased patient access to tests, but also protects others from potential exposure. Health care workers can risk infection when they administer diagnostic tests.

The kit, made by Everlywell, will contain a swab for individuals to use to take a sample from inside the nostrils, and a tube filled with a saline solution to put it in for sending to one of two private lab companies: Fulgent Therapeutics or Assurance Scientific Laboratories. The company plans to partner with additional laboratories.

Some public health researchers have warned that at-home nasal swab tests can be less accurate than the specimen collection performed by health care providers, which involves inserting a long nasal swab through the nose into the back of the throat.

Christina Song, an Everlywell spokeswoman, said consumers will first take an online screening survey to determine whether they meet federal guidelines for the test. The survey will be reviewed quickly by health care providers affiliated with PWNHealth, the companys telemedicine partner. If a consumer qualifies for the test, one will be shipped out immediately.

From the moment that you hit the order button, to the moment that you get the test results on your phone or device, that process is designed to take three to five days, Ms. Song said.

The test kits will be available later this month, according to Ms. Song, and will cost $135.

In announcing its authorization for the Everlywell testing kit, the F.D.A. said the company had leveraged data from studies supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and UnitedHealth Group to show that the specimens would stay stable during shipping.

Everlywell makes a variety of products that individuals can buy online or in stores, among them at-home test kits for diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases and high cholesterol.

Some of the companys products, such as those purporting to test for food sensitivities, have come under criticism. Everlywell was also one of several businesses that drew attention from members of Congress in March for entering the market for coronavirus test kits in March without F.D.A. approval.

Everlywell, which had promoted its at-home kit as a consumer product, said in a statement at the time that it had not sold any of the kits to consumers, but was providing the test materials at cost to hospitals and health care organizations who can commit to providing the test for free to their workers and patients.

The F.D.A.s announcement on Saturday follows other recent emergency use authorizations for coronavirus testing kits that also permit individuals to take samples at home. One, sold by LabCorp, also uses a nasal swab to collect a sample, which is then sent to the lab. The other, developed by a Rutgers University laboratory, called RUCDR Infinite Biologics, in partnership with Spectrum Solutions and Accurate Diagnostic Labs, is for collecting a saliva sample.

Read more from the original source:

F.D.A. Clears Another Coronavirus Testing Kit for Use at Home - The New York Times

Recommendations on how to protect ourselves from contracting the virus that causes COVID-19 are everywhere, like washing your hands, wearing a mask, and staying at least 6 feet away from people outside your home. But not all risks are created equal; home, public transportation and the grocery store all have different challenges.

A blog post by University of Massachusetts Dartmouth professor, Dr. Erin Bromage, who studies immunity of infectious diseases in animals, titled "The Risks - Know Them - Avoid Them" garnered major attention for showing that some of the highest risk areas may not be what you'd expect.

A cashier wearing a face shield bags groceries for a customer at the Local Market Foods store in Chicago, April, 8, 2020.

A lot of attention is being spent on opening up the economy, but it seems like the highest risk is more likely your own living room.

The data suggests that most people will get infected in their home, according to Bromage.

Tune into ABC at 1 p.m. ET and ABC News Live at 4 p.m. ET every weekday for special coverage of the novel coronavirus with the full ABC News team, including the latest news, context and analysis.

So where are the highest risk areas in the community for getting infected?

"The general theme of what I can see is, lots of people together in an enclosed environment with poor airflow and usually some sort of talking or singing involved leads to lots of people in that environment getting infected," said Bromage, in an interview with ABC News.

Case studies that traced back COVID-19 outbreaks at the beginning of the pandemic, have found that the main sources of infections in the community lead back to the workplace, public transportation, social gatherings, and restaurants indoor environments, with limited air circulation, and many people spending a prolonged period of time in the same place.

Some of the biggest outbreaks, excluding nursing homes, in fact, that have been reported and traced occurred in prisons, religious ceremonies, choir practices, indoor sporting events, and even birthday parties.

"You've got a lot of people in an enclosed space with lots of huffing, puffing, or yelling, which just led to large outbreak events," Bromage said.

Being exposed to the virus does not automatically mean you will be infected. A successful infection is dependent on the time exposed to the virus and the amount of viral particles you are exposed to. For example, "While joggers may be releasing more virus due to deep breathing, remember the exposure time is also less due to their speed," Bromage writes.

Scientists call the amount of exposure to the virus that leads to infection the "infectious dose." Although scientists are still learning more about how many viral particles lead to infection, they do know that sneezing and coughing release the highest amount of viral material into the air, and you're more likely to become infected if you're in a confined space.

A masked grocery store worker in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood with one of the city's largest Mexican and Hispanic community, organize shopping carts while people waiting to enter the store, May 5, 2020, in New York City.

A single sneeze, according to Bromage, has been estimated to release about 30,000 droplets that can travel up to 200 miles per hour, which means it could easily cross a room. A cough releases round 3,000 droplets that can travel around 50 miles per hour. These particles may drop to the ground or could hang around in the air for a short period of time.

In fact, a recently published study showed that speaking loudly in an enclosed space creates "substantial" risk of transmitting the virus to others. Prolonged contact and lots of direct talking, breathing, and yelling between individuals increases the direct exposure to viral particles, which increases the likelihood for infection.

The amount of virus a person release changes over the course of the infection and varies by person. This is dependent on the infected persons' viral load, which is the amount of the virus detected in a test sample from a patient and reflects how well the virus is replicating.

Many people are asymptomatic and may easily spread the virus, unknowingly, by directly talking, singing, yelling, or even breathing around other people in close contact. This is why the CDC advises that everyone wear face coverings in public.

Bromage underscores that the exact number of people infected by respiratory droplets versus transmission through touching contaminated objects like door handles and elevator buttons is unknown, which is why it's also important to wash your hands often and avoid touching your face. But the compilation of studies he wrote, "serves to highlight that being in an enclosed space, sharing the same air for a prolonged period increases your chances of exposure and infection."

In very high-risk situations, social distancing guidelines are not as effective because even if you are far away from an infected individual in a small, poorly ventilated enclosed space for a long period of time, a low dose of the virus in the air can reach you and over a sustained period of time may be enough to cause infection.

Bromage said that the activities many typically view as highest risk for infection like grocery shopping might not be as risky if you're spending a brief amount of time at the store, you're avoiding other shoppers, not speaking directly with people, and the store restricts the number of people that can enter at a given time.

Public bathrooms may also pose a risk, but for slightly different reasons, said Bromage. Bathrooms have a lot of high touch surfaces like door handles, faucets, and countertops.

So far, the science seems to suggest that outdoor areas and large ventilated spaces are the lowest risk areas for infection. Outdoor areas are generally safer because wind and infinite air space could dilute the viral particles circulating. If you are actively moving outside that also reduces the exposure time to any viral particles hanging around.

With restrictions lifted in some states, many Americans will face a new challenge: "Just because something is open doesn't mean it is an instruction to go," said Dr. Andrew Noymer, associate professor of population health at UC Irvine.

Before you put yourself in a high-risk situation, Bromage suggests asking yourself, "Are there too many people here and how much time have they spent here? Are there loud talkers? Singing or yelling? What's the amount of people in my area that actually are infected?" If you are in an environment with a lot of people, you should also assess what changes the business owner put in place to lower the risk of virus spreading.

If you choose to meet other people, you should also consider their level of exposure and health status. Ask your friends or family where they have been, how often they go to the store and whether they have been staying home, suggests Dr. Henry Raymond, epidemiologist and associate professor at Rutgers University.

"It's not just about your health but about the health of those people around you," Raymond said.

If you know your friend or relative has underlying health conditions or is at an increased risk of developing severe symptoms due to a weaker immune system you should take extra precautions to avoid exposing them to the virus. If your state permits social gatherings and you decide to meet up, keep it to a small group and make it safe as possible by staying outside, Raymond said. Agree on some ground rules, such as: "We don't shake hands, we bring our own food, we space the chair out at least 6 feet away."

"The best course of action is to be personally cautious and personally responsible. We don't have a vaccine. But we do have social distancing and masks," said Raymond.

Eden David, who's studying neuroscience at Columbia University and is matriculating to medical school later this year, is a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.

Continued here:

Know the risks: Where you are most likely to get coronavirus - ABC News

Dr. Ray Lorenzoni is in his second year of a pediatric cardiology fellowship at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. In March, he was recruited to treat adult COVID-19 patients during New York City's peak. Elias Williams for NPR hide caption

Dr. Ray Lorenzoni is in his second year of a pediatric cardiology fellowship at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. In March, he was recruited to treat adult COVID-19 patients during New York City's peak.

On the night of March 30, just before 7 p.m., Dr. Ray Lorenzoni put on his face mask, walked across the street from the Bronx apartment he shares with his wife and started his shift at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center.

Lorenzoni, 35, is in his second year of a pediatric cardiology fellowship at the hospital. But this night, the patients would be different: It was his first shift treating adult coronavirus patients the first adults he's treated in the hospital since medical school six years before.

"Coming into the hospital, it was a little bit unreal," he says. "The whole floor was filled with adult patients."

By then, COVID-19 cases systemwide at Montefiore Medical Center had gone from just two cases a little over two weeks earlier to more than 700. In response, Montefiore transformed part of the children's hospital into a 40-bed adult COVID unit. All around the city, other hospitals were making similar adjustments. Medical students graduated early. Operating rooms were converted into ICUs. A field hospital went up in Central Park.

But the surge in New York City has done much more than simply rearrange space and upend protocol. More than 15,000 people have died of COVID-19 there, and that enormous toll will profoundly impact the city's tens of thousands of health care workers for years to come. Lorenzoni is one of them.

A little over a month ago, Lorenzoni answered a request from NPR for hospital workers to describe what work was like at the epicenter of the crisis. Lorenzoni began recording his reflections for NPR after his shifts, sitting at the desk in his bedroom, speaking into his iPhone in a slow, measured voice.

Just a few weeks earlier, Lorenzoni had watched along with many other Americans how the Italian medical system had been brought to its knees. It seemed likely it was only a matter of when, not if, the coronavirus would arrive in the U.S. And of course, by then, it already had.

"I knew I could be involved because of what happened in Italy," Lorenzoni says, and adds, "a pediatric physician needing to take care of critical adult patients is unheard of."

Still, he was surprised he was recruited so early.

"They filled us up pretty quickly and the patients were very sick. I remember in the first couple shifts we were putting breathing tubes in patients on a floor that doesn't usually do that," he says.

Treating adults hit him hard, he says. He's used to working with kids.

"Pediatrics is a career where most of your patients get better," he says. "But these were very with-it adults who were scared. They knew what the risk was."

It felt important to him, he says, to be honest about what was happening, even when the news wasn't good.

"One of my main mantras is to sit down with somebody. And that was very tough in this environment because our protective equipment didn't surround us," he says. "So we were discouraged from sitting down on the bed next to a patient to have a deep discussion or sitting down in a chair and being at eye level with the patient."

Instead, he says he would do his best to give his patient a sense of comfort by leaning against the wall, trying not to stand over or talk down to them.

"I think patients can see right through a physician when they try to dance around a difficult conversation," he says. "You can be honest with a person and they appreciate that honesty."

One patient, a man in his mid-forties, kept asking how bad his condition was. As the man's health deteriorated, Lorenzoni was open with him, aware that those hard conversations like what it means to be put on a ventilator are sometimes the last a patient will ever have.

"I remember that he asked me, 'doc, I know I'm not getting better, what else can we do?' and unfortunately I had to answer that we'd been doing everything we could. And he broke down. And I broke down a little bit in tears," he says.

Dr. Ray Lorenzoni, a pediatrician in the Bronx, answered a request from NPR and captured his experiences treating adult COVID-19 patients during New York City's peak in a series of audio recordings. Elias Williams for NPR hide caption

Dr. Ray Lorenzoni, a pediatrician in the Bronx, answered a request from NPR and captured his experiences treating adult COVID-19 patients during New York City's peak in a series of audio recordings.

In his recordings, Lorenzoni lingered on the quieter moments. He spoke about why it was important to take time with his patients, especially because visitors were not allowed. One woman, in her early 30s, often wanted staff to check in on her, beyond the usual rounds that doctors and nurses make.

"I feel like she knew she wasn't doing well, and she wanted the company," Lorenzoni says.

When he would leave for the day, he'd check in on her to make sure she was okay, but he worried that she would take a turn for the worse by the time he returned.

Eventually, that's what happened. She needed to be placed on a ventilator to breathe.

"One of the things I remember before the breathing tube was placed was simply sitting by her side and telling her what was going to happen. And what we could and couldn't do to help," he remembers. "She was scared about how little control she had or even the doctors had in how she did."

Lorenzoni transferred her to an ICU, an operating room that had been converted. His shift was ending, and he signed out his other patients, but he stayed on to be with this one during the intubation.

"When her body didn't respond well to that, because it was so weak, I was there doing chest compressions on her," he says. "And I signed her death certificate afterwards. It was a tough day."

She was the first of his patients to die.

"Although she passed away without her family by her side, she wasn't alone," he says. "I hope that even this small amount of company that she had at the end was comforting for her. And it's going to be one of the things that sticks with me for the rest of my career."

Many of the people who have died from COVID-19 in New York had underlying health conditions, like diabetes and high blood pressure, and that's true in Lorenzoni's experience as well. But he says conditions that put someone at a higher risk are much more common than people realize.

"These are people that we know. These are people that we're related to," he says. "It's either yourself, or your neighbor, or people that you work with."

Hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 have been decreasing for a few weeks now in New York, and Lorenzoni is back on pediatrics. It's a welcome relief for now, but he says if there's another surge, he could be called back.

Read more from the original source:

A Pediatrician Treating Adults In The COVID-19 Pandemic Remembers His Patients - NPR

Passengers wear masks on a Myanmar National airlines flight out of Yangon. Many airlines now require passengers to don masks. Paula Bronstein/Getty Images hide caption

Passengers wear masks on a Myanmar National airlines flight out of Yangon. Many airlines now require passengers to don masks.

Each week we answer pressing coronavirus questions. For this week's installment, we're focusing on flying.

We'd like to hear what you're curious about. Email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions."

Since the coronavirus began its spread around the world, the number of people flying has nosedived. In the U.S., for example, the number of flyers has dropped more than 90% since the beginning of March. TSA screened 234,928 travelers on Thursday, compared with 2,611,324 people on the same weekday a year earlier.

With some countries and states are starting to allow businesses to reopen and lifting stay-at-home orders, people are wondering about the risks of flying.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance urges avoiding travel as much as possible, "especially if your trip is not essential .... Don't travel if you are sick or travel with someone who is sick." Travel increases your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19, the CDC states.

Dr. Mark Gendreau, chief medical officer at Beverly Hospital in Massachusetts and a professor of emergency medicine at Tufts University, agrees: Even as some restrictions start to lift, he believes that it's still not a great time to take a flight for, say, a beach vacation.

"If you're going for a vacation, it might be a good idea to postpone it for a little longer and by a little longer I would say another couple of months. We still have a lot of [viral] activity out there," he says.

Here are answers to some of the commonly asked questions about flying.

What do I need to think about before making a decision to fly or not?

Determine whether the trip is necessary and worth the risk and hassle.

"It's up to individual travelers to decide what is really urgent and necessary," says Dr. Henry Wu, a professor of infectious disease medicine at Emory University and director of its TravelWell Center. "While traveling in an aircraft, you may be around people from all over the world, whether on the plane or at the airport. There will always be some risk at this point, and it's going to be very difficult to determine how high."

He says personal protective measures like face coverings, hand hygiene and keeping social distance all help to reduce the transmission rate of the virus but cautions that these measures don't eliminate risk entirely.

To determine whether it's smart to fly, suggests Wu, start with a self-assessment: "Your medical background, your age and whether or not you have risk factors for severe complications."

Second, evaluate the importance of the trip. In certain instances say if you want to visit a dying family member or greet a new grandchild you may feel strongly that you should go. Other situations may be discretionary.

Third, evaluate your own tolerance for risk and inconvenience. Some states and countries require a 14-day quarantine period for arriving visitors Hawaii, for example, requires all arriving plane passengers to stay home or in their lodging for 14 days after arriving and monitor their health, with a possible $5,000 fine or year in prison for violators.

The CDC continues to advise a 14-day quarantine when you get home from international travel.

"I think everyone has to sort of do a little soul-searching to see what their risk tolerance is and the importance of the trip and their ability to take protective measures," Wu says.

How stressful will it be?

Airplanes are confined spaces. Someone seated near you on the plane could start sneezing or coughing uncontrollably which could cause you anxiety. Make sure you are prepared for the mental stress of an environment that is not fully within your control during a global pandemic.

The last time this reporter flew was in early March. It was not a relaxing experience: I was crammed in a full plane, highly aware of any stray cough or sneeze (including my own) and with no way to know if someone sitting near me might be carrying the virus. It was a relief to land.

Gendreau says that your risk within a confined space like an airplane comes down to three factors: the duration of your exposure, your proximity to the source of the exposure and how infectious that source is.

While there's no way to eliminate that risk, there are steps you can take to reduce your chance of picking up an illness on board.

If I do fly, do I need to wear a mask?

While there's still much that isn't known about COVID-19, the virus is believed to spread primarily through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, according to the CDC. Masks can protect you from spraying your fellow passengers with droplets if you cough or sneeze and can also protect your mouth and nose from the droplets of others.

All major U.S. airlines, and some overseas, now require employees and passengers to wear face coverings during flights except when eating or drinking. Very young children are exempted as are those with medical conditions that prevent wearing a face covering.

Your mask should cover your nose and mouth and not be too loose, Wu says. Be sure your hands are clean when putting the mask on and taking it off, and always wash or sanitize your hands after removing your mask.

Can you practice social distancing on a plane?

As airlines have cut flights, some planes in recent weeks have been quite full. After an outcry from the public, airlines are now taking steps to promise travelers they'll have more space: Many do not seating passengers in middle seats on any flights, and if space allows, are seating passengers every other row. Bethany Long Newman flew on American from Chicago to Charleston, W.Va. in late April. On her flight from Chicago to Charlotte, "Everyone had their own row, and they put an empty row in between people."

But the situation was more haphazard on her next flight, aboard a smaller plane from Charlotte to Charleston: "When we boarded, there was a flight attendant that just said, 'You can sit wherever you want." Newman and her two family members family took a seat, but then someone sat down directly behind them, spurring Newman and her family to move elsewhere.

That's smart.

Wu says it's easier to stay spread apart now, with fewer people flying, but that will be more challenging if and when travel picks up.

United Airlines says that beginning next week until the end of June, it will aim to inform passengers 24 hours before departure if their flight will be more than 70% full. Customers can opt to rebook on a different flight or receive a travel credit.

What's the safest seat to select?

People sitting on the aisle are more likely to be in contact with other passengers and crew members as they walk down the aisle or take something out of the overhead bins.

"If it's a crowded flight," Gendreau says, "you can't go up those aisles without accidentally touching someone who's just seated there."

Those passengers by the window are also less likely to get up during the flight to use the bathroom or move around activities that can also expose you to other people and surfaces.

Gendreau says in this era of not-so-crowded flights, he'd go for a window or middle seat instead of an aisle.

Wu's pick? "Wherever is the most distant from others."

Do I need to bring hand sanitizer? And when should I use it?

"Hand gel: don't leave home without it," says Gendreau. He says the germiest places on airplanes are often the bathroom faucet handle, the slider that locks the lavatory door and the magazine pockets and tray tables.

If you use the lavatory, use sanitizer gel on your hands after you return to your seat, to remove germs from surfaces like the door lock.

Wu says it's important to stay aware of what you're touching: "If you touch anything that may not be clean, which is virtually everything that's not on yourself, be mindful of that," he says, and sanitize your hands when needed.

He says that in general, it's not a bad idea to carry around a pen to touch elevator buttons and the like, instead of using your fingers. Though then you need to be aware that you're carrying around a dirty pen.

Should I do any pre-emptive wiping?

Wipe down surfaces in your area.

Airlines have stepped up their cleaning procedures of aircraft cabins, disinfecting them with fogging machines that spray disinfectant. Staff come through again with cleaning supplies to clean cabin surfaces like seat belts, window shades, tray tables and seat-back screens.

Your airline might provide disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer as you board, but you may want to bring your own in case it doesn't. Gendreau hasn't flown since the arrival of COVID-19, but he was already in habit of bringing wipes and sanitizer gel.

"I'd just clean my seat back tray, my gasper [air vent], my seat belt. Then I'd wipe down where the magazine stuff was," he said. "Then I'd dispose of that wipe, take out my gel and sanitize my hands."

When you use hand sanitizer, use several drops and rub for at least 20 seconds.

What if my face gets itchy?

Don't touch it.

Sanitize your hands, put on your mask and adjust it so it's comfortable and then leave it alone.

"If I've got an itchy eye or something, it's my forearm that's getting it unless I sanitize my hand," says Gendreau.

How effective are cabin air filters?

"The good news is that airline aircraft air circulation is very good," says Wu, "and it is constantly being filtered and circulated."

Most aircraft used by U.S. airlines use high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration systems. "This type of air filter can theoretically remove at least 99.97% of dust, pollen, mold, bacteria and any airborne particles with a size of 0.3 microns," the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says. "Particles that are larger or smaller are trapped with even higher efficiency."

The CDC says, "Because of how air circulates and is filtered on airplanes, most viruses and other germs do not spread easily."

But those air filters are not going to protect you from a sneeze that lands right on you.

"My main concern would be my individual row, as well as the two rows in front and back that's roughly your six-foot radius," Wu says. "Even if the air is well-circulated and filtered, if somebody is just really coughing or sneezing within vicinity, it certainly does increase the chance of some exposure or contamination of the area around you."

What preventive measures can I take if someone starts coughing or sneezing a lot?

If someone is hacking nearby, hopefully they're wearing a mask. If they're sitting close to you, you might want to move seats if possible.

If you can't, Gendreau says, try to convert your mask into one that seals more tightly against your face. He suggests a technique demonstrated by a former Apple engineer, in which three rubber bands are stretched over top of a mask to create a seal over the mouth and nose.

Gendreau would also reach up and turn on the adjustable air duct above your head, known as a gasper. He recommends turning it to a medium flow and angling it so the air current is directed slightly in front of your face. He says that by turning the gasper on, you might be able to add some turbulence to the air in your space. Modeling studies have shown, he says, that opening the gasper for additional air flow "does create some extra turbulence in your personal air space and that might create enough turbulence where the particle doesn't sort of land on your mask or on your arm."

Link:

Coronavirus FAQs: How Risky Is It To Fly? Is There Any Way To Reduce The Risks? - NPR

The solution to the coronavirus may have been staring us in the face this whole time, lazily chewing on a carrot. All we need, it seems, is llamas.

A study published last week in the journal Cell found that antibodies in llamas blood could offer a defense against the coronavirus. In addition to larger antibodies like ours, llamas have small ones that can sneak into spaces on viral proteins that are too tiny for human antibodies, helping them to fend off the threat. The hope is that the llama antibodies could help protect humans who have not been infected.

International researchers owe their findings to a llama named Winter, a four-year-old resident of Belgium. Her antibodies had already proven themselves able to fight Sars and Mers, leading researchers to speculate that they could work against the virus behind Covid-19 and indeed, in cell cultures at least, they were effective against it. Researchers are now working towards clinical trials. If it works, llama Winter deserves a statue, Dr Xavier Saelens, a Ghent University virologist and study author, told the New York Times.

To any llama aficionado, this news should come as no surprise. The animals have developed a reputation for healing. Llama antibodies have been a fixture in the fight against disease for years, with researchers investigating their potency against HIV and other viruses.

And their soothing powers go beyond the microscopic. Llamas have become exam-season fixtures at a number of top US colleges. George Caldwell, who raises llamas in Sonora, California, brings his trusted associates to the University of California, Berkeley, UC Davis, Stanford, and other northern California universities and high schools, where their tranquility is contagious, helping students overcome end-of-term anxiety. When youre around a llama, you become very calm and at peace, one Berkeley senior said at a campus event last year.

At that event, I joined the ranks of the converted, having had the good fortune to receive a llama greeting, which involves warm llama breath hitting ones face. It was the most pleasant nostril-based salutation I have ever received all my anxieties seemed to dissipate in the llama-generated air. (This was long before the pandemic, which has largely ruined the appeal of being breathed on.)

Humans and llamas are natural allies, said Caldwell, though too few realize it. People see the llamas, they all light up, he said. Llamas just have that ability its programmed right into us. Their hair can be used to make clothing, their manure benefits crops, and as Winters antibodies reaffirm, even their blood can help us. And they are known as pack animals, a skill currently serving them well in Wales, where these hairy essential workers are delivering groceries.

Everything about these guys youd think that theyd be the most valued creature in the world, Caldwell said. His goal is to spread the word about their gifts: Llamas are the real unicorns.

Now they are doing their part inside and outside the laboratory. Caldwell has discussed collecting antibodies with his vet, but it is not an easy process, he says, especially for an older person: some llamas are less than eager to become blood donors, and they can be ruffians when the situation calls for it.

They are offering their services elsewhere, however. The pandemic has halted campus visits for now, so Caldwell has moved some operations online. This month he offered a live-streamed tour of his llamas residence, hosted by UC Davis.

The creatures enclosure was a picture of peace, where Quinoa, Joolz, McSlick and friends sat munching and gazing out at the world, blissfully unaware of the global pandemic, or perhaps simply confident that better times lie ahead.

With Winter on our side, they could be right.

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'Llamas are the real unicorns': why they could be our secret weapon against coronavirus - The Guardian

Pier Fries in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, was open and serving recently, but a few restaurants have announced they will close permanently. Fred Bever/Maine Public Radio hide caption

Pier Fries in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, was open and serving recently, but a few restaurants have announced they will close permanently.

Maine has seen one of the country's lowest rates of hospitalization and deaths from COVID-19, and the lowest in the entire Northeast.

But its economy relies heavily on summer visitors many from states where the virus is still rampant. With Memorial Day approaching, tourism businesses are worried summer may be over before it has begun.

In the historic seaside summertime playground of Old Orchard Beach, it's spruce-up time. Workers are starting to open up the fry shacks, pizza parlors, and the town's many low-rise hotels.

At the Waves Oceanfront resort, workers like Raksmey Yi and owner Ken Lafayette also have something else to worry about: the coronavirus. As lawnmowers and leaf blowers buzzed around them, they discussed set-up strategies that could help with social distancing.

"So we're keeping some of the pools closed, we're not opening all of our pools," Lafayette said. "It's about the social distancing on the pool deck."

They will tell people "you can't sit on the deck, only swim, in and out," Yi said, which drew a laugh.

But when Yi suggests that those who want to sunbathe should head to the beach, Lafayette points out another concern: for now, at least, it's a "walking beach" where people must keep moving or face a possible citation.

Such are the new concepts of the COVID-19 era that Maine's tourism leaders have to contend with.

In March, Lafayette took a significant loan to buy a new property, based on its long history of repeat customers from Canada. But now President Trump has sealed the border indefinitely.

Lafayette said sending back deposits has become almost a full-time job, and he's lost bookings worth at least half a million dollars.

"So I almost feel like a failure," he said. "My brother will tell me it's not my fault, my wife tells me it's not my fault. But [with] all the optics and gauges that I use, it's just demoralizing."

And it's discouraging as well for the 80-plus seasonal workers he'd planned for, whose job prospects are now uncertain. Tourists spend more than $6 billion a year here, supporting about one in seven jobs.

The cascade of economic effects is being felt up and down the coast and far inland too, in an area called "The Forks," for instance, at the confluence of two major rivers where Suzie Hockmeyer pioneered the state's whitewater rafting industry back in the 1970s.

"We're looking right down the gun barrel like a lot of people are," Hockmeyer said.

Her river adventure resort, Northern Outdoors, should be ramping up for the season now opening up the inn, cabins, campgrounds, restaurant and brewery. More than 100 workers make a buck here at the height of most seasons, with some 10,000 visitors taking on the rapids.

But the inn is empty and the rafts are still in storage. Hockmeyer's trying to figure out how to maintain social distancing through all her operations, including on the water.

"A boat is 16-feet-long, and it has four different thwarts," she said. "So if you kept people in the same household in the first few thwarts, you'd probably get almost a 6-foot distance between the guide and the people out front. It's possible we'll have to put a mask on the guide."

If they even get the chance, that is.

Commercial lodging in Maine is mostly shut down, except for essential workers. That changes next month, but visitors from out-of-state will have to quarantine in place for two weeks before doing anything else.

The hospitality industry said few tourists would be willing to take that on, and the policy's led to thousands of cancellations. Leaders are begging state officials to modify or lift the restriction.

Heather Johnson, Maine's commissioner of economic development, said the state is working with industry to design a multi-pronged strategy, including expanded testing for the virus, that could change the structure of the quarantine requirement.

Much depends on the pandemic's progress in hard-hit Massachusetts, perhaps the single biggest contributor to Maine's tourist population. Johnson said it's a mistake to think an economy can thrive without robust public health protections.

"I don't think there's an either-or proposition here," she said. "I think this will be a multi-layered response, and will take communities, industry and local leadership, which we're seeing a lot of."

Johnson adds that recent research shows tourists planning future travel are looking for experiences that include outdoors "assets" in areas where there is space and strong safety practices. That portends well for the fall and next summer, she said.

"We think that lines up really well with the Maine brand," she said. But, she adds,"we are not giving up on summer."

Some businesses have though. One theme park in southern Maine said it won't reopen until next year, some restaurants say the same, and a few have already announced they will close permanently.

Tourist towns like Old Orchard Beach are experimenting with ways to meet the needs of the day: closing streets to cut down on the density of sidewalk crowds, coordinating beach openings so no one area gets overwhelmed, creating new cleaning regimes for all-important public restrooms. Fred Bever/Maine Public Radio hide caption

Tourist towns like Old Orchard Beach are experimenting with ways to meet the needs of the day: closing streets to cut down on the density of sidewalk crowds, coordinating beach openings so no one area gets overwhelmed, creating new cleaning regimes for all-important public restrooms.

Meantime, tourist towns like Old Orchard are experimenting with ways to meet the needs of the day: closing streets to cut down on the density of sidewalk crowds, coordinating beach openings so no one area gets overwhelmed, creating new cleaning regimes for all-important public restrooms.

On a recent day, Rocco Ferraiuolo was selling pizza as usual at his high-profile takeout shop on the town's main drag.

"The world is crazy now, who was suspecting this?" he asked, wearing a mask and gloves as he floured and shaped pizza rounds. He said he's worried about making the rent. But he has some hope too.

"You know, I think if everybody does the right thing, masks, the gloves, this and that, everybody can work,"Ferraiuolo said. "Everywhere, you know? In every shop."

Another restaurant owner said it's not time to think outside of the box anymore; it's time for a whole new box.

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Maine's Seasonal Businesses Feeling Economic Effects Of The Coronavirus - NPR

As of Saturday, Taiwan has recorded 440 coronavirus cases and seven deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. By comparison, Australia -- with a population of 25 million -- has reported more than 7,000 infections and 98 deaths.

Eager to share its experiences in fighting Covid-19, Taiwan is now pushing for a greater voice in global health discussions. The United States, Japan and New Zealand have all voiced support for Taiwan to join next week's World Health Assembly -- an annual meeting of World Health Organization (WHO) members.

And this doesn't sit well with Beijing.

China regards the island as part of its territory, and has for years blocked it from taking part in many global institutions, while also refusing to have diplomatic relations with countries that maintain official ties with Taiwan.

Taiwan, which is not a WHO member, joined the WHA as an observer from 2009 to 2016, when the island was governed by the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT). But when the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took office in 2016, ties frayed with Beijing -- and Taipei hasn't joined the WHA since.

But as the virus gives Taiwan a rare opportunity to boost its international profile, Beijing has accused Taipei of pushing for formal independence -- and stepped up military drills around the island. There have even been some fringe calls within China for the country to use the pandemic as an opportunity to invade Taiwan.

Democracy vs authoritarianism

As the number of new infections dropped in China and surged abroad in recent months, state media touted Beijing's success in defeating the virus while highlighting the failures of other governments to contain its spread -- particularly the US and other Western democracies.

Inside China, that sparked claims its authoritarian political system was superior to those of liberal democracies when it came to tackling the pandemic.

Furthermore, the Chinese government has faced criticism for its initial handling of the outbreak. Authorities have been accused of silencing medical workers who tried to sound the alarm on the virus, downplaying the severity of the outbreak and delaying admission of human-to-human transmission in the critical early stages.

'Taiwan can help'

As China moved to help countries by donating personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies, questions have been raised as to the motives behind its so-called "mask diplomacy."

In March, the European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned about the "geopolitical component" of Beijing soft-power push, saying Europe must be aware of "a struggle for influence through spinning and the 'politics of generosity.'"

Improved standing

As well as donating medical supplies, Taiwan has sought to develop bilateral partnerships to fight the pandemic -- a move that has drawn the wrath of Beijing.

In addition to bilateral cooperation, Taiwan has doubled down on its bid to return to the WHO's annual assembly.

On March 27, the US passed a law supporting Taipei's participation in international institutions and its efforts to strengthen ties with other countries, and multiple nations usually wary of being on the wrong side of Beijing, such as Japan, Canada and New Zealand, have publicly spoken out in favor of Taiwan rejoining the WHA.

On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian rebuked New Zealand for just that, calling on it to "immediately stop making wrong statements on Taiwan, to avoid damaging our bilateral relationship." Beijing has called Taipei's attempt to rejoin the WHA a "political plot."

"In the United States, there are people who blatantly support Taiwan to join the WHO," a spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office said last week. "They are politicizing epidemic prevention issues and sending a seriously wrong signal to the Taiwan independence forces. We resolutely object to that."

Rising jingoism

On social media and in the Chinese press, some have called on the People's Liberation Army to take advantage of the pandemic to invade Taiwan, arguing that the timing could not be better, with the US preoccupied with the coronavirus and its military might in the region crimped by an outbreak on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.

However, most observers agree that such posturing is unlikely to be matched by any hostile action against Taiwan.

Timothy Heath, a senior international researcher at the RAND Corporation, a US think tank, said the weakness of China's economy precludes any such move. The coronavirus outbreak has resulted in the Chinese economy contracting by 6.8% in the first part of this year -- the worst plunge since quarterly records began in 1992.

"China needs access to (global) markets once they recover, and so it is in China's interests to maintain good ties with the US and the world," Heath said. "A reckless attack on Taiwan would only exacerbate tensions with Washington and could elevate the risk of economic sanctions and other penalties -- potentially crippling the Chinese economy."

He added that while Beijing "cares a great deal about Taiwan," the Chinese government cares "even more about maintaining the economic growth that underpins the (Communist Party's) rule."

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Taiwan's success in fighting coronavirus has bolstered its global standing. This has infuriated Beijing - CNN

She was 31 weeks pregnant when her husband took her to a Cincinnati, Ohio, hospital in late March. She had a cough, fever and it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

The novel coronavirus was putting a strain on her body and the 40-year-old mother would have to deliver her baby early while in a medically induced coma.

Kappers and her husband dreamed of giving a sibling to their 3-year-old son Zayne. Conceiving had never been an easy task for them and a pandemic was about to make things even more difficult.

From putting together a nursery for the baby to having to hunker down at home because of the virus, the life of this family of three was already changing.

When her toddler first complained about fatigue and a fever in early March, Kappers nurtured him back to health without thinking it could be the virus. Then, her husband started having headaches, fatigue and lost his sense of taste and smell.

"We are pretty confident the virus circled through our entire family," Kappers' husband, Ziad Razzak, told CNN.

Razzak, 37, took her to TriHealth Good Samaritan Hospital on March 24 and within hours, his wife was on a ventilator. It was terrifying, he says.

"I don't know whether they thought she was going to pull through it," Razzak said. "We started discussing how to deliver the baby to make sure he was safe."

Nurses would call her husband every day at 6 a.m. and place the phone next to Kappers' ear. She was sedated but for a few minutes, Razzak would tell her about their toddler and recall funny memories. It was his way of trying to cheer her up and motivate her to keep fighting while alone in the hospital.

When Kappers started to have contractions -- more than two months before her due date -- doctors decided it was time to deliver her baby. She had to give birth while in a medically induced coma.

"At the time, I was a little upset for her sake ... because she was going to have this baby and wouldn't get to meet him for so long," Razzak said. "It was not the way this delivery was supposed to go."

They couldn't touch their son right away

Neither of them could meet their newborn son, Laith, right away.

After giving birth, Kappers' health improved but it was a slow process. She had been connected to a ventilator for weeks and got a tracheotomy to help her wean off the sedatives.

Several weeks passed before Kappers fully regained consciousness and learned about her son's birth.

"I just remember looking down as I went to the bathroom for the first time (since waking up) and thinking 'Oh my Gosh, I have a scar there that I never had before,'" Kappers said. "It was the C-section."

Razzak had been in the middle of a 14-day coronavirus quarantine when his son was born. He was cleared and the newborn's Covid-19 test was pending when they met each other. Razzak says he was in an isolation room, wearing a face mask, goggles and a protective suit when he held Laith for the first time.

He couldn't touch his skin but "it was still better than nothing," Razzak said.

The newborn boy has since tested negative for the virus.

Nurses and medical staff at TriHealth Good Samaritan Hospital cheered and waved blue, white and yellow pom poms last week as Kappers was wheeled out of the hospital.

They had helped celebrate Kappers' 40th birthday, cared for half their family with compassion for more than a month and now, they were giving them a heartfelt farewell -- just as if they were family, Razzak said.

But it was a bittersweet send off. Kappers had to go home before meeting her son, who was still in the hospital.

When Razzak brought Laith home a couple of days later, he carefully placed him on Kappers' lap.

Kappers defeated the virus and is now able to walk without help but has not fully recovered. She's on light oxygen, is working to regain her strength and has difficulty talking because she's healing from the tracheotomy.

While she is happy to be home and is overjoyed to have her family finally together, Kappers says she feels "mother's guilt" because she can't pick her son up and she can't take care of him herself.

"I feel guilty but I have to understand that he basically saved my life," Kappers said.

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She was fighting coronavirus and gave birth while in a coma. She met her baby five weeks later - CNN

Written by Leela Murali | New Delhi | Updated: May 17, 2020 4:18:21 pm An American flag flies outside the Department of Justice in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

US Coronavirus: The United States is the worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with over 1.4 million cases and 87,000 deaths. This week, over two-thirds of the countrys 50 states began easing restrictions and lifting lockdown measures to restart the economy. Like other parts of the world, businesses have resumed with fewer employees and customers, social distancing measures, and guidelines mandating the use of face masks.

The US finds itself in a precarious position with record layoffs taking the unemployment level in the country to the highest since the Great Depression in the 1930s. In April, the unemployment rate touched a historic 14.7 per cent, with some 20.5 million people abruptly losing their jobs.

According to the latest figures, over 36 million people filed for unemployment benefits in the last eight weeks.

Meanwhile, House Democrats passed a $3 trillion economic package on Friday to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic. The 1,800-page legislation, which disburses funds to both state and local governments, and directly to Americans, is the largest relief package in US history.

The epicentre of the US coronavirus outbreak is New York, a cosmopolitan city of nearly eight million. So far, the city has reported over 350,000 cases, which translates to about one case per 55 people, and over 27,000 deaths.

New York was hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak due to a combination of factors. To begin with, it hosts one of the busiest international airports in the world. Data shows that in 2018, the John F Kennedy International Airport handled 61 million passengers and 90 airline companies from across the globe. Not just tourists and residents, the airport is also a major transit hub, acting as the largest gateway into North America.

It is likely that Covid-19 reached New York two-three weeks faster than it did anywhere else in the country, due to which its numbers are higher. The transmission is also likely to have happened at a faster pace given New York is the largest metropolitan area in the world, and the among the most populous.

New York City has been known for its racial and economic disparities, especially given its high immigrant population. Black and Latinos make up about half the citys population, and are more likely to be affected by the virus than their white or Asian counterparts.

Further, the response to Covid-19 played a big role with Governor Andrew Cuomo acting slower than other states to impose restrictions on the public. Now, New York is in lockdown till the May 28.

US President Donald Trumps response to the pandemic, a sort of roller coaster, has evolved from being dismissive to combative. In January, Trump was quick to brush aside questions on the coronavirus, telling reporters we have it totally under control. The following month, Trump claimed the US had tremendous success in its fight against Covid-19, and that the country was totally prepared.

Skip to March, when Trump said the US was engaged in the most aggressive and the most comprehensive effort to confront a foreign virus in modern history, or when he claimed: I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.

In April, Trump said he could see light at the end of the tunnel, and that soon, (the US) will be over that curve, we will be over that top, we will be headed in the right direction.

On May 6, he commented, This is the worst attack we have ever had, this is worse that Pearl Harbour attack, worse than the World Trade Center, there has never been an attack like this. It could have been stopped at the source it could have been stopped in China. (Here are Trumps top 10 quotes in response to the pandemic)

The US and China have found themselves caught in another war of words over the outbreak of the disease. The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed the virus originated from a Wuhan lab, threatened to disrupt bilateral ties with Beijing, and accused Xi Jinping of failing to contain the disease.

Its a bit more complicated than Trumps offhand remarks, given criticism from some quarters of the nexus between China and the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO has come under fire for its handling of the crisis, delayed response and praise for China.

China, on its part, has invited researchers to study the origins of the virus. The country was also quick to announce monetary assistance to the WHO after Trump halted funding saying the organisation missed the call on the pandemic.

This political blamegame itself has drawn criticism for taking away from scientific investigation into the virus.

The US state of Missouri has filed a lawsuit against China seeking to claim damages for the loss of life, human suffering and economic losses due to Covid-19. However, countries are protected from being sued in US courts by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). Missouri will likely find it difficult to prove its claims against China.

Meanwhile, Trumps daily briefings he was among the few leaders who continued to hold press conferences despite the pandemic have been no less of a spectacle. Not only has he got into several arguments with reporters, Trump has also use the platform to advocate several untested drugs for Covid-19. He touted Hydroxychloroquine (HCL) as a game changer despite no evidence of its success to cure the disease.

Trump even suggested injecting disinfectants to cure Covid-19, a claim that led to a chorus of warnings from health professionals. Trump was also among the first few who publicly suggested the virus could disappear in the summer.

While there is no evidence yet to prove either of these theories, the US is working on at least 10 projects to develop a solution to the coronavirus. Trump recently said at least 10 drugs were in the clinical trial stage.

Another thing Trump probably has in mind is the upcoming US Presidential Elections, slated to held on November 3. While its anyones guess as to whether the election will be postponed it never has been in the history of the US the nomination process has already seen several setbacks with at least 15 states delaying their presidential primaries due to Covid-19. Either ways, any rescheduling of the elections would legally require Congress approval.

India and the US have, so far, been working together to fight the pandemic. Most recently, Trump said he would donate ventilators to India.

Prior to this, India had chosen US among the first countries to which it would export hydroxychloroquine. Indian-American scientists and researchers had also found praise during one of Trumps press conferences.

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Explained: How the US has responded to the coronavirus pandemic - The Indian Express