Category: Covid-19

By

JEFF AMY Associated Press

September 9, 2020, 9:23 PM

4 min read

ATLANTA -- Coronavirus infections continue to spread at the University of Georgia, with the school reporting more than 1,400 new cases of COVID-19 in the past week.

The numbers, reported Wednesday, push the 39,000-student university close to 2,600 total infections in the past four weeks, according to the school's data. Although Georgia College & State University still has recorded a larger share of infections among its campus community since Aug. 1, UGA's outbreak is now the fastest growing among universities in the state that are publicly reporting numbers.

The surge is clearly reflected in the figures for the broader Athens-Clarke County community. Clarke County is 23rd among U.S. counties for the most new cases per capita in the past 14 days, according to figures kept by The Associated Press, although the university says some tests may come from students and employees elsewhere.

And a rising positivity rate suggests things could be getting worse, with 8% of surveillance tests conducted to keep an eye on the spread of the virus coming back positive last week, compared to 5% the week before.

The growing outbreak at the university comes as case numbers across Georgia continue to fall. The state is now recording about 1,800 newly confirmed infections a day, down more than half from its late July peak. Thats still above the national average for new infections, on a per person basis, but Georgia has fallen from the worst for new infections to No. 11 as of Tuesday. More than 287,000 infections have been confirmed and at least 6,128 people in Georgia have died from the virus. The number of people hospitalized with confirmed cases of coronavirus fell below 1,500 on Wednesday, down more than half from the peak of 3,200 in July.

The university announced Tuesday that it was increasing the number of daily surveillance tests available from 360 to 450, and inviting randomized groups of students to come take a test, starting with campus housing residents.

Georgia College & State University, with 645 positive tests since Aug. 1, still has the highest share of campus infections, but new cases have slowed there. Cases are still rising fast at Georgia Southern University, which has reported 942 infections in recent weeks. Georgia Tech, which has reported 717 cases since the beginning of August, is urging students who share dorm rooms to move into singles.

Dr. Garth Russo, executive director of UGA's University Health Center, suggested in a news release that because only one faculty member tested positive last week, it suggests that the virus is being spread somewhere else besides classrooms.

Not all faculty members feel reassured, though. More than 350 faculty members statewide have signed a recent petition by the state chapter of the American Association of University Professors calling for the system or individual institutions to move to fully online instruction. The Board of Regents has a mandate that each university must have at least some in-person classes, with dorms and dining facilities opening at all the schools.

President Jere Morehead pronounced the trend disturbing after calling it concerning last week. He again told students it was their responsibility to follow health rules.

Each of us must make sound decisions in the coming days and weeks so that we can turn the trajectory, as we have seen at other institutions in the state, Morehead said in a statement.

But the student newspaper, The Red & Black, editorialized last week that the blame should not rest entirely on students.

The University System of Georgia decided to have in-person classes this fall despite the blatant risk it poses to the residents of Athens-Clarke County, the newspaper wrote. Even bound by the guidelines placed on them by the USG Board of Regents, the administrators at UGA did not create a strong enough plan to keep students and Athens residents safe.

An earlier version of this story has been corrected to show that the numbers were reported Wednesday, not Thursday.

Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffamy

See the original post here:

COVID-19 infections leap again at University of Georgia - ABC News

Despite a resurgence of the virus in France, officials from the French Tennis Federation announced on Monday that they will allow spectators at the French Open, which will take place from Sept. 27 to Oct. 11. The plans have been scaled back, however, to 11,500 people a day.

Roland Garros stadium, where the tournament is held, stretches across almost 30 acres and will be split into three separate zones. The two larger ones will allow 5,000 people each; the third will allow 1,500. Normally, the stadium holds about 35,000 people.

The French Tennis Federation, with advice from a committee of expert scientists, is acting responsible and in close collaboration with the French government authorities to draw up a strict protocol that will ensure the health and safety of everyone who is on site at Roland Garros stadium during the tournament, the officials said.

The U.S. Open is currently underway at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, but without any fans in the stadium. The French Open, usually played in late May, was pushed to September because of the pandemic.

In early July, Bernard Giudicelli, the president of the French Tennis Federation, said the tournament may be able to accommodate 20,000 fans per day. At that time, the seven-day average for the daily number of new cases was about 700, according to a New York Times database. In the two months since, the seven-day average has risen to more than 5,000, rivaling the first peak of cases in April. On Friday alone, there were nearly 9,000 new cases.

Spectators will not be able to move between zones of the stadium and everyone over the age of 11 will have to wear face coverings.

Here is the original post:

Parties and Covid-19 Outbreaks Threaten University Reopenings in the U.S. - The New York Times

"We can confirm that members of our swimming and diving team have tested positive for COVID-19, Jason Baum, the schools senior associate athletics director for communications, said. We have temporarily paused all team activities with the swimming and diving program. The student-athletes who tested positive are in isolation in accordance with university COVID-19 protocols.

The number of infected students could increase as additional test results become available Thursday. BCs roster lists 41 swimmers and divers from 17 states and Canada.

How the team became exposed to the highly contagious virus was unclear. A small number of team members fell ill Monday. Positive test results rose steadily Tuesday and reached 13 by early Wednesday, according to the person connected to the program. The team has not practiced since Monday.

BC is the only college or university in New England to field a football team this fall. To date, the team, whose schedule opens Sept. 19 against Duke in Durham, N.C., has had only one player test positive for COVID-19, in June, according to the school.

BC now faces the challenge of containing the virus to protect the rest of the student body, including its big-budget football team, which receives about $30 million a year through its affiliation with the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Many members of the swimming and diving team have been moved to a hotel to quarantine, the person connected to the program said.

BC reported on its COVID-19 website that a total of 38 undergraduate students and two others at the school have tested positive for the pathogen, including 26 during the most recent week, Aug. 31 to Sept. 6. As of Tuesday, 30 undergraduate students were in isolation, the report stated. In all, the school had administered 22,239 tests through Tuesday, including 12,545 to undergraduates.

"We can confirm that members of our swimming and diving team have tested positive for COVID-19. We have temporarily paused all team activities with the swimming and diving program. The student-athletes who tested positive are in isolation in accordance with university COVID-19 protocols.

Jason Baum, BC's senior associate athletics director for communications

BC declined to say how many students who have become infected with the virus are members of the schools sports teams, other than the one football player. In addition to the football team, BCs womens soccer, field hockey, and volleyball teams are preparing to play full ACC schedules this fall. Other programs, like swimming and diving, are holding workouts.

Baum said BC has yet to develop a schedule for the swimming and diving teams. Many of the teams usual competitors, including Harvard, Dartmouth, and Tufts, are not competing this fall. Boston University has started practicing but has yet to make a schedule, and Northeastern has yet to determine if it will push back the start of its season, its representatives said.

Last year, BCs swimming and diving teams opened their schedule on Sept. 21 with their annual Maroon vs. Gold meet.

Globe correspondent Nate Weitzer contributed to this report.

Bob Hohler can be reached at robert.hohler@globe.com.

Continued here:

COVID-19 afflicts BC swim, dive team - The Boston Globe

WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. West Liberty University confirmed 11 active cases of COVID-19 on campus on Wednesday.

In a letter to students, staff and faculty, West Liberty University President Stephen Greiner said the cases were reported by its students since Friday, Sept. 4.

We now have 11 active cases, confirmed by the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department and a few additional ones still being investigated, Greiner said.

Id like to thank the many careful members of our community who diligently follow our CDC recommended safety guidelines of social distancing, mask-wearing, hand sanitation and avoidance of large social groups during the pandemic.

Greiner said the students are in isolation or were sent home to recover.

School officials noted in an email to MetroNews that the positive tests are not part of the initial mass testing done on campus and are positive results self-reported from tests taken at a variety of clinics.

This number means that we are at a .50% positivity rate, which is low, he said.

Beginning this week, WLU will post positive case numbers provided by the health department every Wednesday on its coronavirus page.

The university is asking anyone to contact their doctor or call WLUs Student Health Services at 304-336-8049 from 7 am to 3 pm, Monday-Friday for phone advice or to schedule an appointment, if they are feeling sick.

Classes at WLU began on August 17 with classrooms and meeting halls at 50-percent capacity for the semester. Around 1,000 students moved back to the Ohio County campus in a two-week staggered period in early August.

We encourage all our students and staff to remain safe by avoiding large gatherings and parties and to wear your mask in any circumstance where social distancing is difficult, Greiner said.

Read more:

West Liberty confirms 11 active cases of COVID-19 on campus - West Virginia MetroNews

GREENFIELD, Mass. Doula Carrie Diehl lives in a house set between a gentle stream and a busy road with her husband, their 8-month-old daughter, two teenage stepdaughters, a leggy Labrador, and a short, elderly dog. She loves fixing cars and caring for plants, and she is 5 years sober from a substance use disorder.

Diehls work as a doula includes what you might expect: talking pregnant people through aches and pains, providing labor support, helping parents learn how to breastfeed. But as a peer mentor doula for mothers in recovery, she also supports clients when they relapse, models sobriety coping skills, and celebrates recovery anniversaries.

Most of Diehls work involves personal contact, often holding a newborn while a single mom takes a precious half hour to herself. But Covid-19 has complicated all of her work, from offering transportation to the physical closeness of postpartum doula care. She is part of an essential support network for mothers in recovery, one that is increasingly fraying in pandemic times.

The pandemic, too, has introduced new challenges for people with a history of substance use disorder. Stress, economic distress, and isolation are significant risk factors for those at risk of relapse. Nationally, overdoses are estimated to have risen 18% during the pandemic, and these incidents are more dangerous now that people are isolated, with no one nearby to administer naloxone or call an ambulance.

Diehl works with clients of Baystate Franklin Medical Centers Moms Do Care EMPOWER program, which serves parents of young children and pregnant and postpartum people who have a history of heavy heroin use, opioid misuse, or overdose. Shes had to shift what her work looks like since the virus started to spread. Shes making more phone calls, sending more texts, and taking occasional walks with clients.

But there is no substitute for the intimacy of personal contact, which also allows her to assess if someone appears to have relapsed and needs additional services. Diehls own experience gives her a keen sense if someone is on the edge and needs her nonjudgmental support.

Im trying to find a way, she said, Because its not like I can watch the baby over the phone. I like to say I like to smell people: to feel who they are, and Im pretty sure they do as well. So we can actually decide, do we like each other? Is she going to try? Is mom going to trust me enough through her birth?

Before the pandemic, Diehl would sit with postpartum women while their babies played together, or breastfeed her daughter while they talked. She could build a relationship as they talked about everything from recovery and sleep to diaper changes and bonding with a new baby.

Most people think about all the bad stuff. But its really hard to also lose the good stuff, Diehl said.

Pregnancy is often a hopeful time for people with substance use disorder, but the sleeplessness, anxiety, and intensity of the postpartum period bring a high risk of relapse.

Many new parents struggle in the months after giving birth, and those early in their recovery, in particular, need resources. But closures and telehealth limit access, and essential connections become tenuous. When mental health symptoms increase, the risk for relapse and death will increase, said Baystate Franklin Medical Center midwife Mary Paterno, who works with the programs clients.

The potential for catastrophic outcomes is much bigger, Paterno added. If somebodys recovery is in jeopardy because of all of this, they have a lot to lose: among other things, their child. They have so much to lose, including the loss of parental rights.

Paterno estimated that her team sees 40 moms each year with substance use disorders. Its a small number, but a large proportion those individuals account for roughly 10% of their patients. More than half of her patients are also on Medicaid.

The effect of the pandemic on the work of midwives and doulas particularly those who work with patients with a history of substance use disorders is undeniable. Paterno and her team, like health workers across the country, faced shortages of personal protective gear. Paterno found herself having to balance the safety demands of public health with the individual needs of her patients. These goals were often at odds, especially for a midwife.

The pandemic will continue to impact that work in the months to come. Diehl said shes particularly worried about the effect winter or more widespread lockdowns will have on her clients.

With 1.2 cases per 100,000 people in the past week, the county where she works is comparatively safe right now. But it is clear that the pandemics toll is deadly and far-reaching in more ways than one. It isnt just a respiratory illness, Diehl said. Its a social illness.

Follow this link:

Covid-19 is taxing the support system for pregnant women in recovery - STAT

Many stranded crew members said governments should do more to accommodate crew changes. Ports and countries want the cargo, but when it comes to the crew who are bringing the cargo to them, they are not helping us, said Nilesh Mukherjee, the chief officer on a tanker carrying liquid petroleum gas, who is from India.

Even in normal times, replacing a crew member involves complex logistics, said Frederick Kenney, director of legal and external affairs at the International Maritime Organization, a U.N. agency that oversees global shipping.

Leaving a ship, and getting home, requires more than just disembarking. It usually involves multiple border crossings, flights with at least one connection, and a slew of certificates, specialized visas and immigration stamps. A crew members replacement has to go through the same steps.

Every step in that procedure is broken because of the pandemic, with flights limited, border controls tightened and many consulates closed, according to Mr. Kenney. While some countries have found ways around the problem, the rate of progress is not keeping up with the growing backlog of seafarers, he said last week.

Some ports have exempted crew members from border restrictions, then backtracked after seafarers, arriving from their home countries to report for duty on a ship, were found to have Covid-19.

Hong Kong exempted sea as well as airline crews from a 14-day quarantine requirement, but it changed those rules in July, after the exemptions were blamed for a surge in case numbers. In Singapore, too, protocols were tightened after seafarers tested positive for the virus on arrival.

More here:

Sailors Trapped by Covid-19 Fight Exhaustion and Despair - The New York Times

Blanca Rodriguez met her daughter Jade for the first time separated by a facemask, incubator, tubes and wires. While their first interaction was far from ideal for both mom and baby, both had been fighting for their lives against COVID-19 just weeks earlier.

Jade, born prematurely by emergency C-section, is now under watchful care of doctors and nurses in the Childrens Hospital neonatal intensive care unit, where her mother visits her regularly; holding her, talking to her and bonding with her. Blanca, who during her hospital stay had fought extreme respiratory distress and had to be put in a medically induced coma, is now at home after weeks of being isolated in the hospital with COVID-19.

I know itll be a long time before I can take my baby home, but I can wait if this will keep her safe, Blanca said. COVID-19 is not a joke, especially for pregnant moms and babies. It nearly killed me. Im so thankful for the people at Loma Linda. Im so thankful for my life and my daughters life.

The 32-year-old mom from Adelanto, California, was 28 weeks pregnant on July 24 when she was rushed to Loma Linda University Childrens Hospital with severe upper respiratory issues and difficulty breathing.

Doctors from both the intensive care unit teams and the obstetrics teams began treating Blanca for severe pneumonia-like symptoms until she tested positive for COVID-19. Blanca had also developed acute respiratory distress syndrome, where fluid gathers in the lungs. The syndrome has a 50% mortality rate in pregnant women. Blanca continued to deteriorate, needing increasingly more oxygen to combat her labored breathing.

Blanca was barely breathing on her own and needing heavy oxygen assistance when Kanwaljeet Maken, MD, a critical care physician at Loma Linda University Health, first saw her.

The day I took her into my care, I remember thinking this could be very concerning, Maken said. There were so many moments where I didnt think she was going to survive.

Courtney Martin, DO, OBGYN and medical director for maternity services at Loma Linda University Childrens Health, said that three days after being admitted, it became clear to her, Maken and others in Blancas care team that Blancas body was failing. Her lungs couldnt handle the strain of exhaustion from trying to breathe, and her immune system didnt have enough strength to fight the disease and support her babys life.

The biggest difficulty was that we were managing two lives instead of one, Martin said. The baby was still severely premature to deliver, but Blanca was not stabilizing.

Blanca needed to be intubated and put on a ventilator. Doctors hoped this would allow her body to rest, recover and give her baby time to grow. Minutes before being intubated, Blanca said a tearful goodbye to her family over FaceTime. No one knew what the next weeks, days or even hours would hold, but there seemed to be a certainty that Blancas battle would be uphill.

The ICU team placed Blanca into a medically induced coma, intubated her and began working on improving her oxygen intake. However, within hours, Blancas baby began to lose oxygen herself and went into distress.

Doctors scrambled to coordinate a life-saving emergency c-section for the baby. Nearly 25 people, including doctors and nurses from the NICU, ICU, labor and delivery, and anesthesia teams crowded into an ICU room to deliver Blancas baby while keeping comatose Blanca alive.

Jade was delivered in the early hours on the morning of July 27. While Jade didn't have COVID-19, both she and her mom remained in critical condition. Blanca received anti-viral therapy, steroids, heavy oxygenation, convalescent plasma and antibiotics for several days after the c-section. Jade was placed on a ventilator in the NICU.

Blancas full recovery would be nothing short of a miracle, Maken said.

As days went by, the miracle continued to unfold. By August 2, even though Blancas fever was still at 102, her breathing was improving and her entire demeanor seemed more positive; she was even trying to laugh. That same day, Maken made the call to take Blanca off the ventilator.

Blanca was released from the hospital on August 6, finally reuniting with the rest of her family after weeks of isolation and separation. She looks forward to bringing Jade home when her doctors say shes ready.

Here is the original post:

Doctors save pregnant mom dying from COVID-19 and her premature baby - Loma Linda University Health

Will Buncombe County Schools alert staff if there is a COVID-19 case?  WLOS

Continued here:

Will Buncombe County Schools alert staff if there is a COVID-19 case? - WLOS

MADISON (WKOW) -- Wisconsin health officials reported 15 new deaths to COVID-19 and 55 hospitalizations since yesterday.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL DHS DASHBOARD)

The Department of Health Services reported 8,871 new test results since yesterday, of which 857or 9.7 percentcame back positive, according to new numbers released today.

The remaining tests returned negative results. However, a negative test only means the person tested did not have the disease at the time. They could still contract COVID-19.

Measuring the percentage of new cases returned in tests each day helps differentiate if increases in cases are due to greater spread or more testing, according to DHS.

The seven-day average of the new positive case percentage is at 11.3, an all-time high.

(App users, see the daily reports and charts HERE.)

The seven-day average of reported positive daily cases is 886, up from 696 a week ago.

DHS reported 15 new deaths, keeping the total at 1,183 people (1.4 percent of positive cases) killed by the disease.

The state reported 8,014 new negative test results.

Of all positive cases reported since the pandemic began, 73,964 or 88.8 percent, are considered recovered.

The state reported 55 new hospitalizations. Wisconsin hospitals are currently treating 298 patients with COVID-19. Of those, 88 are in intensive care units.

DHS now has a county-level dashboard to assess the COVID-19 activity levelin counties and Healthcare Emergency Readiness Coalition regions that measure what DHS calls the burden in each county.View the dashboard HERE.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services updates the statistics each dayon its website around 2 p.m.

(Our entire coronavirus coverage is available here.)

The new strain of the coronavirus causes the disease COVID-19. Symptoms include cough, fever and shortness of breath. A full list of symptoms is available onthe Centers for Disease Control website.

In severe cases, pneumonia can develop. Those most at risk include the elderly, people with heart or lung disease as well as anyone at greater risk of infection.

For most, the virus is mild, presenting similarly to a common cold or the flu.

Anyone who thinks they may have the disease should call ahead to a hospital or clinic before going in for a diagnosis. Doing so gives the staff time to take the proper precautions so the virus does not spread.

Those needing emergency medical services should continue to use 911.

(County by county results are available here).

View post:

15 deaths, 55 hospitalized since yesterday in Wisconsin due to COVID-19 - WKOW

Amina Mohammed addressed ministers from UN Member States, and representatives from international institutions, during a virtual meeting on Tuesday to solidify a menu of policy options for post-pandemic recovery and beyond, which will be presented to world leaders later this month.

Although the crisis has affected everyone, Ms. Mohammed said the consequences will be worse for the worlds most vulnerable citizens.

Between 70 to 100 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty; an additional 265 million people could face acute food shortages by the end of this year, and an estimated 400 million jobs have been lost: disproportionately, of course, affecting women, she said.

Moreover, some 1.6 billion learners have had their studies disrupted and may never return to school, she continued, adding finding immediate and lasting solutions is our responsibility.

The meeting on Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond was the initiative of the UN Secretary-General and the Prime Ministers of Jamaica and Canada, launched in May.

The aim is to present what the organizers described as a single ambitious menu of policy options to address recovery in the short term, but also to mobilize the resources needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, and to create a resilient global financial system over the long term.

As Chrystia Freeland, Canadas Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, pointed out, this crisis has hit women and young people particularly hard and our response must take that into account.

Over the past three months, ministers formed six discussion groups to address issues critical for economic survival and recovery, with the imperative of building back better.

The challenge is immense. Globally, there have been more than 27 million cases of COVID-19, and nearly 892,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The UN further estimates that the worlds gross domestic product will suffer a nearly five per cent drop this year, while foreign direct investment and remittances are set to decrease by40 per cent and20 per cent, respectively.

With lockdown measures continuing, borders closed, debt skyrocketing and fiscal resources plunging, the pandemic is pushing us towards the worst recession in decades, possibly even a depression, with terrible consequences for the most vulnerable, said Ms. Mohammed.

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that although some advanced economies are doing somewhat less bad at the moment due to strong policy response by their finance authorities and Central Banks, most emerging markets are still in trouble, including those which rely on tourism revenues or that have high debt levels.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva emphasized the need for greater social investment as an important lesson from the pandemic.

We need to recognize that this crisis is telling us we have to build resilience for the future by investing in education and digital capacity everywhere, in human capital, the health systems, the social protection systems in countries, by making sure that the other crises in front of us, like the climate crisis, are well-integrated, she said. And last, but technically not least, by preventing inequalities and poverty raising their ugly heads again.

The discussions sought to further refine policy that will be presented toHeads of State and Government at a UN meeting on 29 September.

For Nigel Clarke, Jamaicas Minister of Finance and the Public Service, the event wasan opportunity to act with dispatch" and "to scale up measures that have already been implemented".

Noting that the world is yet to show the unity and solidarity required for a global response to a crisis unparalleled in recent history, Ms. Mohammed urged Finance Ministers to take action amid the current uncertainties.

I hope you will join us in seizing this initiative to consolidate a menu of options to support your work for the immediate economic relief people need, a peoples vaccine for COVID-19, and to tackle the deep injustices, inequalities and governance challenges while we stand ready together to rethink a global financial system that works for these unprecedented times, she said.

See the original post here:

Finance Ministers meet to refine 'single ambitious menu' for COVID-19 recovery and beyond - UN News