Category: Covid-19

By Fernando del Valle and Steve Clark

HARLINGEN Two more residents have died after a health care worker carried the COVID-19 virus into a nursing home and a rehabilitation center, Cameron County officials said.

On Thursday, a 90-year-old woman became the second resident to die after living at Veranda Rehabilitation and Healthcare.

Meanwhile, a 93-year-old woman died after living at Windsor Atrium, where county officials believe a Veranda health care worker introduced the coronavirus.

The deaths bring the Rio Grande Valleys COVID-19 death toll to five.

So far, 15 Veranda residents have tested positive for the virus, including the 90-year-old woman who died and an 81-year-old man whose death was confirmed Monday.

At the nursing home where 45 tests results are pending, 12 employees and two of their relatives have tested positive for the virus.

At Windsor Atrium, nine residents have tested positive, including the 93-year-old woman whose death was confirmed Thursday.

At the rehabilitation center where six test results are pending, three employees have tested positive.

Individuals of the two facilities who have tested positive continue to be in isolation and employees who have pending results are not working at either facility, County Judge Eddie Trevio Jr. said Thursday.

Patients are being monitored and measures continue to be implemented to limit transmission to others, including monitoring all patients for signs and symptoms and use of (personal protective equipment) at all times, he said.

Facilities complying with order

Earlier this week, Trevio issued an emergency management order aimed at nursing homes and rehabilitation centers.

The facilities are adhering to the emergency management order regarding nursing homes and other long-term care facilities which was ordered by this court a few days ago, he said.

Trevio said officials are working to determine the number of employees who worked at the two facilities.

Earlier this week, Cameron County Health Administrator Esmeralda Guajardo said officials believe a health care worker carried the coronavirus from Veranda Healthcare & Rehabilitation to Windsor Atrium.

Were trying to find out (the number) because were concerned thats how it happened. I know theyre still doing the contact tracing on that, Trevio said. Cameron County continues to work with the facilities on contact tracing and testing of employees as needed.

Concerns of staffing shortages

Trevio said officials are planning to issue an order prohibiting health care staff from working at more than one long-term care facility.

We are going to include that in (the countys order) but in speaking to our health authority and also physicians, we were concerned that with all (thats) going on you potentially are already facing staffing shortages, he said. So then the individuals who may be ill or needing care there may not be enough people to do that.

Abbott makes way for nurses aides

On Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an emergency rule allowing more nurses aides to care for residents in long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 crisis.

This action will expand the eligible pool of direct care workers and help long-term care providers who may face critical staffing shortages, a press release stated.

The rule temporarily allows nursing facilities to hire staff to provide nursing aide services without completing a full certification program during their first four months on the job.

As Texas continues to respond to COVID-19, we are working to make sure our long-term care facilities have adequate staff to care for Texans residing in these facilities, Abbott stated.

Harlingen orders stop to staff sharing

At Harlingen City Hall, officials have expressed concern nursing home health care workers moving between different nursing homes and long-term care facilities are behind a spike in COVID-19 cases.

On Sunday, Dr. Michael Mohan, the citys newly appointed health authority, released orders prohibiting the citys nursing homes and rehabilitation centers from sharing health care staff and transferring residents to other facilities.

Dr. Mohans directive is a result of the recent spike in COVID-19 positive cases, which the city has reason to believe is being caused by the movement of health care staff and health care support staff moving between different nursing homes and long-term care facilities, as well as to and from health care facilities, city spokeswoman Irma Garza stated in a press release.

Verandas response

On Monday, Veranda Administrator Jason Hess stated the nursing home continues to comply with requirements.

As far as the recent health control directive issued by the city of Harlingen, we understand and respect the citys position, Hess stated.

Several of the referenced interventions have previously been the subject of CMS or CDC guidance. With respect to those protocols, Veranda Rehabilitation and Healthcare has been fully compliant since the time the guidance was originally received (if not before), Hess stated.

The facility has always had a robust infection prevention and control plan in place and has expanded this plan in response to the corona virus situation, he stated. We are fully committed to taking action consistent with federal, state and city directives and with keeping our residents and staff safe during these challenging times.

Windsor Atrium reaches out to families

On Sunday, Windsor Atrium Administrator Sandra Basaldua told patients families of two confirmed virus cases at the rehab center.

We have just learned that two patients have tested positive for COVID-19, she wrote. Efforts to mange this development include following the guidelines provided by the Centers for Medicine and Medicaid Services on the restriction of visitation to essential health care personnel only which has been in place since March 13, 2020 and further guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Original post:

2 more nursing home deaths linked to COVID-19 - Monitor

More than 35,000km (21,750 miles) of coastline was always going to be Australias strongest advantage in keeping coronavirus at bay, but even so, the speed with which it was used was breathtaking.

Without warning on Thursday 19 March, the Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, announced: Australia is closing its borders to all-non citizens. The ban was effective from 9pm the next day.

That left visitors and visa holders stranded mid-journey, or turned around at the border and packed back on to planes, and left hundreds of thousands of Australians scrambling to get home, many of whom remain stuck in countries similarly locked down or without flights home.

Australia and neighbouring New Zealand, almost unique among anglophone countries, have so far been successful in largely suppressing the spread of Covid-19 within their countries, and in particular, keeping deaths low.

Australia, with a population of 25 million, has had just over 6,000 infections, and 50 deaths. New Zealand, a country of 5 million people, which closed its borders the day before Australia, has had 1,200 infections and so far only one death from Covid-19.

Both countries have enacted strict physical distancing regimes, enforced by police. Planes have been grounded, workers have been told to stay home, schools have been closed in some places, and entire industries put into hibernation.

Across most of both countries, it is unlawful to be outside without the reasonable excuse of essential shopping, medical care, exercise, or compassionate grounds. In both countries, the majority of confirmed cases have originated overseas. Community transmission remains, by international comparison, low less than 10% of all confirmed cases.

And in both countries, the early decision, and the capability, to enforce a total lockdown of borders has proven crucial, buying valuable time to prepare, and allowing both nations to flatten the trajectory of their Covid-19 infection curves.

We have so far avoided the horror scenarios that we have seen overseas, whether it be initially in China in Wuhan, or in New York in the United States, or Italy, or Spain, or even the United Kingdom, Morrison said this week. But we must hold the course. We must lock in these gains.

Australia has inherent advantages. If a country were to be designed to withstand a viral pandemic such as Covid-19, it would look very much like Australia: geographically distant, a large island nation with borders than can be locked down, inhabited by a comparatively small population that lives, in the main, in low-density cities.

Australia is wealthy, too, with a highly developed public health system, and a government sufficiently solvent to be able to turn on the tap of public monies to get its population through the months of lockdown. Legislation for $130bn (65bn) in wage subsidies for those who have lost jobs because of the pandemic was passed by parliament this week, on top of $84bn in economic stimulus promised earlier.

Australia also has had the advantage of watching the Covid-19 pandemic unfold in other countries. The delay has given it time to prepare its public health system additional beds and staff have been readied for the coming peak as well as its public. Internal restrictions have also been put in place. Australias states have closed their borders to each other for the first time since the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918.

There have been significant and severe missteps, the most egregious being the decision in March to allow the Ruby Princess cruise ship to dock at Circular Quay in Sydney Harbour, allowing more than 2,700 passengers to disembark without testing, despite there being people with Covid-19 infections onboard.

That ship is now responsible for more than 660 infections 10% of Australias total and at least 15 deaths. The New South Wales (NSW) and federal governments have since spent weeks blaming each other and the cruise ship company for the debacle: the decision is now the subject of a criminal investigation by police.

Another misstep was at Sydney airport. Just as physical distancing laws were being imposed across the country, social media videos showed border force officials corralling arriving passengers from all over the world to wait in cramped halls and tight queues.

Apart from the impact of these failures on infection rates, they have damaged public confidence in the governments measures. Just as the country, state by state, was being put into lockdown, governments were undermining their own messages to self-isolate to save lives.

There has been, too, overreaction. In NSW, a man was fined by police for sitting on a park bench and eating a kebab. In Victoria, a learner driver practising with her mother was given a $1,600 fine, later rescinded after a backlash.

But Australians have, by and large, tolerated the imposition of lockdowns.

After thousands gathered at Bondi Beach on a warm autumnal Friday evening in March, it was summarily shut down and put under police guard. With occasional defiance, it has remained eerily deserted since.

Ten days after New Zealands centre-left government closed its borders to foreign nationals it introduced some of the toughest lockdown measures in the world. No one had yet died and cases had just passed 100.

Stay home, save lives, the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, urged her citizens, ordering them to remain in their homes for a month. The situation here is moving at pace, and so must we. The trajectory is very clear, act now or risk the virus taking hold as it has elsewhere.

Ardern said the worst-case scenario was simply intolerable up to 80,000 dead, modelling predicted representing the greatest loss of life in New Zealands history. I will not take that chance, Ardern said. Were going hard and were going early.

The nation was given two days to prepare, panic buying was widespread. But when the moment came effective house arrest for the majority of the population there was absolute quiet on the streets.

Despite their reputation for having an independent streak and a benign disdain for authority, New Zealanders have been overwhelmingly compliant with the restrictive measures, with a total of 367 breaches recorded by police. Eager surfers and mountain bikers have caused the most persistent headaches, according to the police commissioner.

New Zealand is one of the few countries worldwide to pursue an elimination strategy, and the plan has the backing of the scientific community, many of whom want the country to stay in a version of lockdown until a vaccine can be deployed.

David Skegg, an emeritus professor of epidemiology at the University of Otago, said: We could effectively eliminate the virus over the next few weeks we still have a window of opportunity but only if we lift our game quickly.

Fellow Otago epidemiologist Prof Michael Baker is one of the key architects behind New Zealands coronavirus defence plan. He says an elimination strategy is well suited to an island state, where borders can be swiftly and effectively closed.

Writing in the New Zealand Medical Journal, Baker said the strategy would save lives, but at huge social and economic cost, particularly for those with the fewest resources. New Zealand society has made a large upfront sacrifice in pursuing an elimination strategy, he said.

For the first 12 days of lockdown, the numbers of cases rose steadily, as predicted by health officials. But cases have been steadily declining, and the prime minister has said she is cautiously optimistic that the strategy is working.

On Wednesday, New Zealand recorded its lowest number of new cases in a fortnight, one day after testing a record number of people. More people are now recovering from the disease than being infected by it, an encouraging milestone, the countrys director general of health said.

Attention and anticipation is turning to a gradual exit from lockdown in late April. Ardern has said it is likely some regions of the country will remain in total lockdown, while regions with few or no cases will ease into more freedoms. The borders remain closed to foreign nationals, and mandatory quarantining of arrivals is to be introduced today.

We have positive signs, not least the fact that we could have had 4,000 cases now, instead of 1,000, Ardern said.

But I dont want to get ahead of ourselves.

The rest is here:

Have Australia and New Zealand stopped Covid-19 in its tracks? - The Guardian

Stark statistics are coming to light only now and only in piecemeal fashion showing that African Americans are disproportionately affected by Covid-19. The racial divide in who gets infected, who gets tested, and who dies from Covid-19 is emerging from the few cities and states whose data are public.

African Americans in Illinois, for example, accounted for 29% of confirmed cases and 41% of deaths as of Monday morning, yet they make up only 15% of the states population, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, one of just a handful of government agencies sharing information on who is hardest hit by the virus. Michigan mirrors Illinois, with 34% of Covid-19 cases and 40% of deaths striking African Americans, even though only 14% of Michigans population is African American. The story is similar in Wisconsin, where ProPublica first reported that African Americans number nearly half of the 941 cases in Milwaukee County and 81% of its 27 deaths while the population is 26% African American.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention distributes data on age, gender, and location of Covid-19 patients but not their race or ethnicity. The CDC did not respond to a request for comment made on Monday, but on Tuesday CDC spokesman Scott Pauley pointed to information sent to the agency from public health departments around the country. Unfortunately, case report forms are often missing important data, including race and ethnicity. To address this and other data gaps, supplementary surveillance systems are being stood up to better capture ethnicity and race data, as well as other key demographic or clinical information.

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CDCs current posturehas set off challenges from legal and medical professionals to release that data so resources can be better allocated to the people who need them the most.

The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and nearly 400 medical professionals have demanded that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services release daily racial and ethnic demographic data on Covid-19 tests, cases, and outcomes. They cited both the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Affordable Care Act, which prohibit discrimination in health care services. The absence of data amounts to denial of appropriate care, the group argues.

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We are deeply concerned that African American communities are being hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, and that racial bias may be impacting the access they receive to testing and healthcare, Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the committee, said in a conference call with reporters on Monday.

The grim reality reflected in those limited statistics fits with longstanding research on the social determinants of health as well as the very specific risk factors that come into play for the spread of the coronavirus.

Lisa Cooper, an internal medicine physician and a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said shed have to speculate, given the dearth of data, but she listed multiple reasons why as a group African Americans of lower income are more likely to become ill: People working for an hourly wage dont have the luxury of being able to shelter at home or the means to buy two weeks worth of healthy food. They may work in jobs deemed essential, such as in public transportation, public safety, or health care. If they quit, they would lose their health insurance, if they have it, and access to health care. If they continue working, they risk exposure to the coronavirus. And they are more likely to have diabetes, high blood pressure, or asthma, chronic conditions that put them at higher risk for more serious Covid-19 illness.

African Americans in many large cities began to practice social distancing behavior much later than whites, largely due to the fact [whites] could stay at home to work, Cooper told STAT.

Like dominoes, one risk factor topples into another, said Brian Williams, a trauma surgeon, intensive care doctor, and associate professor at University of Chicago Medicine. He was shocked when he learned that in his city, 70% of the people who died from the virus were African American, according to data analyzed by WBEZ.

Im disheartened because the disparity is so great and I wish I could do more, although Im a doctor with a certain skill set that is useful right now, he said in an interview. I wish I could do a lot more.

If there were more complete information, more could be done to help people who are sick and stanch the spread of disease, he said.

We need to have a demographic breakdown of who will be impacted and how we as a health care system can deploy all our resources and personnel in the most efficient and effective manner to ensure the safety and well-being of the entire American public, Williams said. Now were flying blind because we dont know.

That racial and ethnic demographic data are being collected its just not being reported out to the public, said Uch Blackstock, an emergency physician in Brooklyn, N.Y.

I think it speaks to just how broken our system is, she said. We actually have the data in our city. All of the electronic medical records systems collect racial and ethnic demographic data. Its a matter of getting our Department of Health to disclose what that data shows.

Williams is looking beyond the current crisis, beyond the surge of patients he fears is still coming.

This affects all of us, either directly or indirectly, he said before returning to the ICU. And when the pandemic is over, our recovery plan should be one of unity in order to rebuild a better society that recognizes the shared humanity of everyone living within our borders.

This story has been updated to include a response from the CDC.

Excerpt from:

African Americans may be bearing the brunt of Covid-19, but data limited - STAT

The rise of Peter Navarro the man put in charge of marshalling emergency US production of medical equipment in the midst of a pandemic is in many ways a classic story of the Trump era.

The 70-year-old White House trade adviser was first recruited by Trump because he wrote a string of books about the Chinese strategic threat one called Death by China despite having spent almost no time in the country and having no grasp of the language.

Five of Navarros books cited a China hand with a particularly pithy turn of phrase called Ron Vara, who turned out not to exist. The name is an anagram of Navarro and the imaginary expert operated as an alter ego, confirming the authors views.

Navarro made headlines in the past week by challenging Dr Anthony Fauci the nations leading immunologist and the public face of the US scientific communitys race to contain Covid-19 in a showdown in the White House situation room over the merits of an experimental drug.

When asked later why he thought he was qualified to start recommending pharmaceuticals to the nation, Navarro replied: My qualifications in terms of looking at the science is that Im a social scientist. I have a PhD. And I understand how to read statistical studies, whether its in medicine, the law, economics or whatever.

People who have worked closely with Navarro agree he is undoubtedly bright. He holds a PhD in economics from Harvard. But there is nothing in his career to date that suggests he has the credentials or experience to manage the state intervention necessary to steer US industry towards producing the masks, gowns, ventilators and other life-saving supplies the country will need over the course of this pandemic.

Before coming to the White House, Navarro was a west coast academic economist with views on trade far outside the American mainstream and a failed political career behind him, have lost five elections and won none in his adoptive home town of San Diego.

His former campaign adviser, Larry Remer, said: I wouldnt trust him to go out to get lunch and come back with everybodys sandwich and drink order correctly. I dont know how he could be put in charge of logistics.

On one level its amusing but on another level, its really dangerous, added Remer, a San Diego political consultant.

Navarros appearance in the Trump camp during the 2016 presidential campaign came as a shock to those who knew him from his days in San Diego politics. He had started out as a registered Republican but became an anti-growth, environmentalist independent, then a Democratic candidate for Congress in 1996, promoted energetically but unsuccessfully by Hillary Clinton.

Navarro came closest to victory in 1992 when he emerged as the surprise contender to be San Diego mayor, taking on the citys entrenched Republican establishment. He stood as an independent, with a working-class background, determined to stand up for the little guy in the face of rampant development. He called his movement Plan (Prevent Los Angelization Now) and he appeared to have a good chance of winning going into a final television debate a couple of days before the vote.

Towards the end of the debate the Republican candidate, Susan Golding, became emotional as she regretted the bruising nature of the campaign, in which the candidates had exchanged multiple slurs. Navarro misjudged the moment, accusing Golding of acting. He came across as cynical and unfeeling, and lost the race at the final hurdle.

Theres something about the process that really brings out your essence, Remer said. And in this case it brought out Peters essence, which is that he has no people skills at all, and he has no empathy for other people.

The personality problem got worse with each defeat, according to Navarros former spokeswoman, Lisa Ross, who worked with him on four campaigns.

As the years went on and as he kept losing campaign after campaign, he became more and more brittle, more and more confrontational, and ended up alienating just about everyone, Ross said. Peter was not a nice person at the end of the day He can really get in your face.

Ross said she watched Navarros extraordinary rise in Trumps world with open-mouthed astonishment.

He was the guy who was waving his arms in front of the bulldozer, so it was surprising when he went to work for the biggest bulldozer in the country, she said, speculating it was his personality that drew Navarro into such close orbit of the president.

It occurred to me that really Peter and Trump are the same kind of animal. Theyre very media savvy but very brittle, Ross said. Peter can be a real bully and maybe thats why Trump picked him. He wanted a bully to do the job.

Navarros rollicking 1998 memoir, San Diego Confidential, displays some of the bravado that appears to have attracted Trump, who is said to refer to him as my Peter.

In the book Navarro acknowledged his reputation as the cruelest and meanest son-of-a-bitch that ever ran for office in San Diego, adding: I dont have any concern at all about making stuff up about my opponent that isnt exactly true I know that bastard running against me doesnt have any scruples either.

As well as echoing some of Trumps own traits, Navarro has also shown, on occasion, the gift of prescience. His tirades against China and free trade anticipated the rhetoric that helped Trump win the presidency. In the first two years of the administration, though often marginalised by more powerful, pro-trade officials, he has emerged triumphant long after they have gone.

He is extraordinarily influential in the White House and whether you like him or not, whether you agree with his politics he caught on early with Donald Trump, said Walter Lohman, the director of Asian studies at the Heritage Foundation. He sort of scratches an itch that Donald Trump has.

Navarro was also vindicated in his dire warnings about the threat of Covid-19, sending a memo to the president in late January with an estimate that it could kill more than half a million Americans and cost close to $6tn. Trump has said he has no recollection of seeing the memo but the White House Cassandra has since emerged looking adept by comparison to the blithe counsel of treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, and the presidents son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Navarro, the environmental activist turned China hawk, now has one of the most important jobs in the country as the coronavirus pandemic strengthen its grip. He has to save tens of thousands of lives in the face of woefully inadequate preparation by his own administration. He is equipped with little relevant experience and few allies, but with a fierce confidence in his own convictions.

Here is the original post:

Peter Navarro: what Trump's Covid-19 tsar lacks in expertise, he makes up - The Guardian

Care homes for older people across much of Europe and North America are struggling to cope with the global coronavirus pandemic, prompting allegations of inhumane treatment and calls for high-level inquiries.

Appalling stories have emerged from residential homes, which have emerged as a key location for infections. People aged 70 and older are at higher risk of getting very sick or dying from the coronavirus. And people 85 and over are even more vulnerable, global figures show.

In Spain, the army has reported finding dead and abandoned people in their beds after it was drafted in to help disinfect care centres. Care homes in the Madrid region alone have reported the deaths of 4,260 residents who were diagnosed with coronavirus or had associated symptoms since 8 March, the regional government said on Wednesday.

In France almost a third of all coronavirus deaths have been of residents in care homes. According to the latest figures released on Tuesday a total of 3,237 people have died in care homes. In Paris alone there were 172 deaths and over 2,300 homes have reported at least one case of Covid-19.

At one of the worst affected care homes in Mougins, near Cannes in the Alpes-Martimes, 31 people one third of its total number of residents have died since 20 March. A spokesperson for the home also revealed that 14 of the 50 staff had tested positive for Covid-19. The family of one resident who died is taking legal action against persons unknown for endangering a persons life.

On Wednesday, Le Monde published an op-ed from Monique Pelletier, a former minister for women, who criticised the incomprehensible and inhumane way residents in some retirement homes were being treated.

Its taken hundreds of deaths of the old in these establishments from Covid-19 for people to finally show some interest in them, she wrote. First of all we forgot to publish the number of them who died daily, reserving that only for those who died in hospital for more than a week, then we learn more than 3,000 have died.

She said many residents had been shut away in their rooms for six weeks without seeing anyone else except hard-pressed staff after visits were banned.

In Italy an anomalously high number of recent deaths in the countrys care homes has prompted calls for a parliamentary inquiry. According to figures from the Higher Health Institute (ISS), 3,859 people have died in care homes across the country operated by the RSA organisation since 1 February, of whom 133 had tested positive for coronavirus and 1,310 suffered symptoms connected with it.

However, Giovanni Rezza, the ISSs chief epidemiologist, told reporters on Tuesday the figures are underestimates, given that few tests have been carried out on residents.

The majority of the care home deaths have been in Lombardy, the region worst affected by coronavirus and where prosecutors are investigating a care home in Milan where 27 people died of suspected coronavirus in the first week of April.

Relatives of residents say that resolving the situation must take priority over prosecutions. As hospitals in Lombardy became quickly overwhelmed, little guidance was given on how to handle the virus in care homes, it has emerged.

Im not interested in pointing the finger what I want to know is, what are we doing to solve this? said Giorgia Memo, whose mother, Fernanda, is in the Milan care home.

Memo said that of 25 residents on the same floor as her mother, 18 or so had a fever. She said her mother is also now very weak.

I havent seen her in over a month. Ten days ago they said tests would be done on everyone. But where are these tests? Do we have to wait until everyone dies before something is done?

Memo added: The medical staff and assistants in there are outstanding they are working 12-hour days and when I call at the end of the day, they still have the energy to tell me how my mother is. But as they are getting sick too, there arent many people working there.

Ten days ago they said tests would be done. Do we have to wait until everyone dies?

In Germany there have been reports of deaths in homes totalling hundreds across the country. In the worst case so far, 29 out of 160 residents at a care home in the northern city of Wolfsburg died after 74 residents became infected. Prosecutors are now investigating the home on charges of death through negligence.

Gerda Hasselfeldt, president of the German Red Cross, described the situation in care homes as extremely fraught. If we are not careful, over the next few weeks hospitals will have to face the prospect of admitting many patients from care homes, she warned.

Ireland reported coronavirus clusters in 86 nursing homes on Wednesday, more than double the number from last Saturday, fuelling accusations that authorities moved too slowly to protect some of those most vulnerable to the disease.

Officials became alarmed last weekend when there were 40 clusters and announced measures to help nursing homes, including the creation of national and regional infection-control teams, temperature screening of staff twice a day and financial support of up to 72m.

Most of the outbreaks are in private facilities, with a minority in those run by the health service. The nursing home sector welcomed the support and said it could cope if staff were given training and equipment.

In Canada, health authorities have been grappling with coronavirus cases in long-term care homes across the country. At one retirement home in Bobcaygeon, Ontario, 29 of its 65 residents have died after contracting the virus.

In the United States, a home in Kings County in Washington State has become a focus of concern, after 40 people died and staff transmitted the virus to other care homes in the area. In Texas, where there have been serious outbreaks, authorities have refused to release any statistics on infections or deaths in care homes. Authorities in California have urged people to remove their relatives from care homes wherever possible.

Many countries are also reporting a shortage of basic protective equipment and testing kits in care homes, leaving staff vulnerable.

In Spain, the CSIF public workers union said two care home workers had died from the virus in the Madrid region while another 400 had become infected.

Elvira Gonzlez Santos, president of the Aetesys nursing association, said the conditions in many Spanish care homes were finally coming to light, to the relief of the associations members.

Now that its been in the media and the government is acting and testing people, people are feeling a little better, she said. But theres still a lack of personal protective equipment, which is in high demand and very expensive.

The Red Cross said across Germany care homes were suffering from a lack of protective clothing and disinfectant, which was contributing to the viruss spread.

Reporting team: Sam Jones in Madrid, Kim Willsher in Paris, Angela Giuffrida in Rome, Rory Carroll in Dublin, Leyland Cecco in Ontario, Enjoli Liston in New York

More here:

Care homes across globe in spotlight over Covid-19 death rates - The Guardian

By Arpit SharmaApr. 9, 2020 , 2:00 PM

In early March, the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in my city, Boston. Suddenly, our university inundated us with emails encouraging good hygiene practices and social distancing. Then, a few days later, we were informed that all noncritical research should stop and that mandatory work-from-home policies would be implemented. Anxiety spread like wildfire. I had not expected my work life on campus to stop so suddenly. My lab mates and I think of our workspace as a home away from home, where we enjoy interacting at lab meetings and over coffee. I felt a pit in my stomach as I realized all that was over for now. I was afraid of feeling isolated.

Working Life is a personal essay series about career issues, challenges, and successes.

What worried me even more was the extent of the isolation. Within a few days of learning that Id be working at home for at least 6 weeks, I found out that a conference I was planning to attend in June was canceled. Not only was I going to miss my work environment, but I was also going to lose a great opportunity to meet researchers from around the world, share ideas, and present my work.

On the last day we were all in the lab together, my postdoc adviser mentioned he wanted to start an online seminar series. At first I felt relieved, thinking that virtual seminars would at least provide some respite from isolation. But I doubted they would measure up to the experience of in-person seminars.

Together with another lab head, my adviser spread the word that they were starting a Slack group, where researchers in our fieldthe science of agingcould have discussions and sign up to give seminars. The group quickly amassed roughly 600 members, and the speaker list filled up. That seemed promising, but I still wondered how many scientists would actually tune in to the seminars, which were slated to take place once every workday.

One week after our university closed, I settled into my makeshift work-from-home desk and logged on to my first virtual seminar. I was pleasantly surprised to see some familiar names online, some from as far away as Brazil and China. Midway through the talk, I noticed that more than 250 researchers were watching. As I took notes, jotting down intriguing experiments and impressive techniques, the unfamiliarity of the experience faded. I realized that despite being alone in my apartment, I was taking part in an event with researchers from around the world, some probably motivated by the same fear of isolation I had felt.

We have continued the daily seminars in the weeks since then, hearing from senior scientists, Ph.D. students, postdocs, and others in our field. After each seminar, we ask the speaker questions on Slack and take part in a group discussion about their research. Ive found the talks helpful for learning about new lab techniques and identifying researchers whom I might be able to collaborate with in the future.

My sense of isolation has faded, and ... I feel more connected than ever.

Weve also used our Slack group to connect in more personal ways, such as by sharing updates on COVID-19 cases in our respective countries and commiserating about struggles that were going through. I have been able to reconnect with colleagues whom I met at conferences years ago but had since lost touch with. My sense of isolation has faded, andperhaps counterintuitivelyI feel more connected than ever.

I began my work-at-home experience worried about losing the opportunity to connect with my colleagues. But I now realize that I am part of a global research community that can thrive online. I plan to continue my conversations with colleagues via our Slack group long after the pandemic is quelled. That will allow us to connect year-round, not just during our fields annual conference, and to include researchers for whom travel is difficult.

If you find yourself lonely working from home, Id recommend starting your own online community with colleagues in your field. Were facing tough times and an uncertain future. But its also an opportunity to rethink how we interact with one another, in ways that will benefit the scientific community in the long term.

Do you have an interesting career story? Send it to SciCareerEditor@aaas.org.Read the general guidelines here.

See original here:

How I've connected with other scientists online during the COVID-19 pandemic - Science Magazine

TAMPA, Fla.Theyre too small to see, but knowing they exist could play a big role in avoidingCOVID-19.

Researchers in Belgium and the Netherlands created simulations that show even if youre exercising outside, you could be exposed to the novel coronavirus through whats called a slipstream.

The droplets that are exhaled by somebody even if the person coughs or sneezes, but just exhaling is enough, said Bert Blocken, a civil engineering professor at Eindhoven University in the Netherlands.

Blocken and his team were alreadyinvestigating the movement of particles around an active body for the last eight months. When the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, scientists in Europe turned to them.

So we worked on it for two weeks, day and night, evenings and weekends, he said. We included all of the previous data we had collected from the previous months.

They found when someone is walking, running, or cycling, a vacuum or a slipstream is created, which could cause respiratory droplets to spread much farther than the prescribed six feet of social distancing.

These droplets are very light, Blocken said. They will stay behind in the airand they need time to settle down. If they dont get the time to settle down, because another person starts running behind you, the other person will simply walk through a dense cloud of droplets.

To put together their simulations, they used software to scan bodies of runners, cyclists, and walkers, and let droplets escape from their mouths as if they were breathing.

We saw how the droplets moved in the airflow around peopleand if they died down on the ground, or on the surface of another person, he said.

To avoid the droplets, they recommend staying 15 feet from others when walking, 33 feet when running or cycling at a slow pace, and 65 feet when running or cycling at a faster pace.

Based on the simulations, the study suggests one way to reduce this risk is to avoid being directly behind another person, either by running side by side or by running in a staggered formation.

The study says the droplets can evaporate quickly, but humidity plays a role, keeping the particles in the air longer, which issomething to take into account in the sunshine state.

If you are in any humid environment, it takes much longer for the droplets to evaporate, Blocken said.

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Simulation research shows COVID-19 can spread farther by those exercising outdoors - WITI FOX 6 Milwaukee

A new story book that aims to help children understand and come to terms with COVID-19 has been produced by a collaboration of more than 50 organizations working in the humanitarian sector, including the World Health Organization, the United Nations Childrens Fund, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and Save the Children.

With the help of a fantasy creature, Ario, My Hero is You, How kids can fight COVID-19! explains how children can protect themselves, their families and friends from coronavirus and how to manage difficult emotions when confronted with a new and rapidly changing reality.

The book aimed primarily at children aged 6-11 years old is a project of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings, a unique collaboration of United Nations agencies, national and international nongovernmental organizations and international agencies providing mental health and psychosocial support in emergency settings.

During the early stages of the project, more than 1700 children, parents, caregivers and teachers from around the world shared how they were coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. The input was invaluable to script writer and illustrator Helen Patuck and the project team in making sure that the story and its messages resonated with children from different backgrounds and continents.

In order to reach as many children as possible, the book will be widely translated, with six language versions released today and more than 30 others in the pipeline. It is being released as both an online product and audio book.

Download the book here

My Hero is You: all language versions

World Health Organization

Previous humanitarian emergencies have shown us how vital it is to address the fears and anxiety of young people when life as they know it gets turned upside down. We hope that this beautifully-illustrated book, which takes children on a journey across time zones and continents, will help them to understand what they can do to stay positive and keep safe during the coronavirus outbreak.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General

UNICEF

All over the world, childrens lives have been completely upended the majority of them living in countries with some form of restricted movement or lockdown. This wonderful book helps children understand and navigate this new landscape and learn how they can take small actions to become the heroes in their own stories.

Henrietta Fore, Executive Director

UNHCR

This is an important resource for children around the world with a strong message of inclusion at its heart that this pandemic can only be beaten if everyone is included in its prevention and response. Children, including those who are refugees, displaced and stateless, can help too. No-one is protected unless we are all protected.

Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNESCO

Sharing facts and reliable information is vital to respond to COVID-19, and I wish to commend the creativity and passion of all artists, writers and publishers who find compelling ways to translate and craft stories and artwork so they can reach children and families to comfort and guide them through a distressing situation. UNESCO is proud to support this initiative and we see this as an example of the contribution of the artistic community to the well-being and resilience of all."

Audrey Azoulay, Director General

For requests relating to translations

Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings, Email: mhpss.refgroup@gmail.com

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Children's story book released to help children and young people cope with COVID-19 - World Health Organization

Dr. E. Hanh Le, Senior Director of Medical Affairs at Healthline Media, is no stranger to health emergencies. Now, she shares what motivates her to look for opportunities to volunteer during the COVID-19 pandemic and describes the roadblocks that she faces.

Many of us likely recall Norman Rockwells image of a doctor. He was much loved; and assuredly, when he retired in his later years, he was missed by the community.

Fast-forward to the last few decades, and you might be surprised to find that many retired physicians actually left clinical medicine when they were in their 40s or 30s, if not mid-20s the prime years for productive clinical practice.

Many left because they were lured away by careers in teaching or technology, but fundamentally, many left because they were frustrated and burnt out by the state of healthcare today, leaving behind years of sought-after, hard-won education and training.

So what do we do now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when there is a large army of physicians who could return to active duty and serve in clinical medicine?

As a Family Medicine physician, I remember being on duty in Houston, carrying patients from floor to floor in the stairwell when Tropical Storm Allison struck, wiping out the power in an entire section of our hospital.

I remember the all-hands-on-deck call to the hospital after 9/11, as we all watched for further terrorist attacks and potential casualties.

So, when COVID-19 took the world by storm in early 2020, I knew that it would not be long before there would be a need for physicians like myself to come out of early retirement and take up arms on the front lines, to relieve our colleagues who had been fighting the hard fight from the beginning.

I proactively searched for opportunities to volunteer, as I wasnt looking for a second paying job. To my dismay, I found that is surprisingly difficult for able-bodied physicians like myself to return to clinical practice as volunteers.

For starters, though Im board-certified and have an active medical license, I do not carry my own malpractice insurance, so it is unclear who would cover me, should there be any negative patient outcome during my delivery of care and should the patient wish to pursue legal recourse.

Also, while it is well-known that there is a military reserve for most of our armed forces, most physicians do not know that there are medical reserve corps throughout the country that enlist volunteer medical and nonmedical personnel to assist in the case of emergencies. Some local areas even have more than one corps unit. Not once had I heard about this until I went looking for it, to find my local unit.

As we have seen in the national news over the past week, in New York City there are little to no coordinated efforts that would allow us, as a nation, to mobilize a large medical workforce to the front lines.

So, physicians like myself have been emailing our clinical colleagues and contacts to see how we can help.

But the most heartbreaking and frustrating roadblock boils down to what we would see and experience if we were called to the front lines.

Numerous clinicians have reported that they have limited or no personal protective equipment and have received contradictory, haphazard communications from their administrative staff, leaving them feeling like there are no clear protocols to protect them and their patients.

Many of our clinical colleagues who have been serving on the front lines arent sure what is on the other side, should they survive this pandemic, so there is concern about what would happen if retired physicians, many of whom have not been in clinical practice for years, join the ranks.

What systems are in place to support us and ensure our success in caring for our patients? Unfortunately, many clinicians still remember Jon Stewarts impassioned plea to Congress to provide 9/11 first responders with a fund to pay for the healthcare that they needed subsequent to the service that they provided.

Many clinicians are left wondering what will become of us after this pandemic is over. What happens to our families if we die or are incapacitated and unable to work in the future? Many of us are the primary (if not sole) financial providers for our families.

Luckily, the American Medical Association have published recommendations for retired physicians who wish to return to clinical practice and outlined guidance about delivering care via telemedicine or in person.

But ultimately, it still rests on the individual clinicians to seek out opportunities to volunteer, and its not easy.

None of this erodes my desire to fulfill my duties as a physician. I have felt and will likely always feel the moral commitment to provide care to all those who need it, regardless of the risks to myself, because it was the oath that I took when I became a doctor.

The situation does give me pause and make me wonder: Why cant we do better? Why cant we do better for our doctors and other healthcare workers? And by doing better for our doctors, arent we doing better for our patients? Who is going to take care of the countless patients who need us?

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Why returning to the COVID-19 front line is so difficult for doctors like me - Medical News Today

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