Here is an update for this afternoon on how humanity is dealing with the COVID-19 Pandemic that is caused by SARS CoV-2. The story is told through links to news outlets, research papers, and videos. They are presented without comment.
Data from Macon County Public Health as of July 21st and graph by Macon Media of data from May 30th to July 21st [LINK]
Please note there is a gap for Saturdays and Sundays starting this past weekend since the health department will no longer be reporting numbers on those days.
407 Detected Cases (+6 in one day)
121 Active Positive (-1 in one day)
284 Recovered (+in one day)
2 Deaths (+1 in one day)
Testing Data for Macon County
3814 MCPH Tests (+4 in one day)
1006 Tests by Others (+4 in one day)
4820 Total Tests (+8 in one day)
340 Tests Pending Results (-20 in one day)
A Press Release From Macon County Public Health:
Macon County Reports Second Death Related to COVID-19
A Macon County resident diagnosed with COVID-19 has died. The person was over the age of 65 and had underlying health conditions. To protect the family ́s privacy, no further information will be released about this patient.
“We want to express our deepest sympathies to the family and their loved ones during this difficult time,” stated Kathy McGaha, Macon County Health Director.
Mrs. McGaha continued, “Our message to the community continues to be: wear a mask, wash your hands, and wait 6 feet from others. Continue to practice social distancing and limit your trip outside your home to help to slow the spread of COVID-19.”
The entire state of North Carolina is under a “Safer at Home” executive order, currently under phase two with masks required to be worn when social distancing cannot be maintained. Older adults and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions might be at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19; however, anyone of any age can become infected with this illness. Therefore, we ask that community members strictly follow the governor’s orders and continue to practice social distancing, as well as safe hygiene measures such as hand washing and frequently cleaning touched objects and surfaces. The public can monitor the different phases of re-opening and learn more about the restrictions at https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/guidance.
Symptoms for COVID-19 are fever, cough, other lower respiratory illness (shortness of breath). If you believe that you may have COVID-19, please call the Health Department at 828-349-2517. The call center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30am – 4:00pm, until further notice.
Here are some numbers from the CDC, the NCDHHS, and the Johns Hopkins Dashboard. Macon Media prefers the Johns Hopkins Dashboard because the counts include those non-residents that are left out of the CDC and NCDHHS numbers.
The CDC website [LINK] reports 97,958 people in North Carolina are infected, 1,629 have died, and infections are widespread, the NCDHHS website [LINK] reports 99,778 confirmed cases from 1,394,864 targeted tests, and 1,115 hospitalized and 1,634 deaths in the state. The Johns Hopkins Dashboard [LINK] reports 99,803 people infected and 1,652 deaths.
North Carolina Coronavirus Map and Case Count [LINK]
Infographic from Johns Hopkins University [LINK] https://bao.arcgis.com/covid-19/jhu/county/37113.html
Resources for Reliable Information about the Corona Virus (COVID-19) [LINK]
Videos
(repeat from yesterday for those who missed this section)
Dr John Campbell
Changes in data gathering
Sources:
Trump Administration Orders Hospitals To Bypass CDC, Send COVID-19 Data To Washington [LINK]
US coronavirus data will now go straight to the White House. Here’s what this means for the world [LINK]
COVID-19 Guidance for Hospital Reporting and FAQs
For Hospitals, Hospital Laboratory, and Acute Care Facility Data Reporting
Updated July 10, 2020 [PDF]
Coronavirus Pandemic Update 98: At Home COVID-19 Testing - A Possible Breakthrough
The current COVID-19 testing strategy in the United States is estimated by the CDC to pick up less than 10% of infections. Dr. Seheult of MedCram.com features snippets from a recent This Week in Virology (Episode 640) with Dr. Michael Mina of Harvard who explains that the technology exists for at home, inexpensive, self-administered, "paper" COVID-19 tests that are likely accurate enough to pick up the vast majority infectious cases of COVID-19. And how lower sensitivity of inexpensive tests may be ideal for a screening test that is performed with high frequency. Utilization of paper type COVID-19 tests may provide the optimal path forward to curtail the growth of COVID-19 and open schools and our economy in a much safer way. (This video was recorded July 20, 2020).
LINKS / REFERENCES:
This Week in Virology Episode 640 | [LINK]
New England Journal of Medicine | [LINK]
NYU Study on Abbott ID Now | [LINK]
New York Times | [LINK]
Test Sensitivity is Secondary to Frequency (Dr. Mina) | [LINK]
Abbott ID Now | [LINK]
CNN Test Costs | [LINK]
Johns Hopkins Tracker | [LINK]
Live Science | [LINK]
Korean CDC | [LINK]
Washington Post | [PAYWALLED] [GOOGLE CACHE]
Reuters | [LINK]
NC COVID-19 News
NC-120 Representative Kevin Corbin Holds Town Hall in Murphy
(repeat from yesterday for those who missed it)
Tip of the iceberg: What’s WNC’s true rate of COVID-19? [LINK]
Cluster of coronavirus cases found at North Carolina casino [LINK] [LINK]
COVID-19 hospitalizations in NC rise to a new record [LINK]
NC governor says refusing to wear masks ‘infringes on the life and liberty’ of others [LINK]
Pandemic Heroes
Delhi Doctor, 42, Dies Of Coronavirus; Had Been On Frontline Since March [LINK]
Oakland nurse dies of COVID-19, fellow health care workers call for more protection [LINK]
Covid-19: ‘Vast majority’ of nurses who contracted virus suffer post-recovery issues [LINK]
These “last responders” deal with the bodies as coronavirus deaths surge in the Rio Grande Valley [LINK]
Research Papers, Clinical Trials and News About Such
Early Detection Of COVID-19 Using A Smartwatch [LINK]
Seroprevalence of Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in 10 Sites in the United States, March 23-May 12, 2020 [LINK]
An alphavirus-derived replicon RNA vaccine induces SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody and T cell responses in mice and nonhuman primates [LINK]
National Smoking Rates Correlate Inversely with COVID-19 Mortality [LINK]
Rapid Decay of Anti–SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Persons with Mild Covid-19 [LINK]
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Issues First Emergency Authorization for Sample Pooling in Diagnostic Testing [LINK]
Comparison of Reported Deaths From COVID-19 and Increase in Total Mortality in Italy [LINK]
Masks, Masks, Masks
(Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!)
Facebook suspends anti-mask group for spreading COVID-19 misinformation [LINK]
Growing Body Of Evidence Suggests Masks Protect Those Wearing Them, Too [LINK]
Dollar Tree, Family Dollar no longer require face masks at all stores [LINK]
Iowa City mayor to issue mask mandate Tuesday, defying governor [LINK]
Marriott will require all guests nationwide to wear face masks beginning July 27 [LINK]
Winn-Dixie parent company Southeastern Grocers reverses course and will require masks at all stores [LINK]
Back to School
Download a PDF of "LIGHTING OUR WAY FORWARD: North Carolina's Guidebook for Re-opening Schools" [LINK]
'They’re going to get over it': Missouri Gov. insists kids must go back to school even though 'they will' get COVID-19 [LINK]
California delays high school sports until December [LINK]
Florida Teachers Sue To Block School Coronavirus Reopening Mandate [LINK] [LINK]
38 COVID-19 cases tied to Hazard High School football team [LINK]
Surgeon general begs Fox News viewers to wear masks as case numbers continue to spike |
'We are not trying to take away your freedoms when we say wear a face covering' [LINK]
Reopening K-12 Schools During the COVID-19 Pandemic [LINK]
COVID-19 in the USA
Where to get reliable COVID-19 data, now that the CDC doesn’t have it
Under the guise of streamlining data, the Trump administration has moved previously available COVID data on hospitalizations out of the public eye. Starting on Wednesday, all hospitals are under orders to bypass the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and instead report directly to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which will be compiling the data into a single database. But that database won’t be available to the public. [LINK]
As virus surges, labs are overwhelmed and testing delayed [LINK]
Concerns arise as some receive positive COVID-19 results but never got tested [LINK]
Georgia hospitals divert ambulances as reports of full ICUs continue [LINK]
Covid-19 Antibodies Fade Rapidly, Raising Risk of Lost Immunity [LINK]
How Remote Work Divides America [LINK]
Coronavirus Live Updates: C.D.C. Says Cases Could Be 2 to 13 Times Higher Than Reported in Parts of U.S. [LINK]
On metric after metric, the coronavirus pandemic has been worse in the U.S. than nearly any other country [LINK]
Coronavirus kills another 1,000 in Texas in just 10 days [LINK]
Fauci says he wasn't aware White House coronavirus briefings were returning [LINK]
Disney theme park staff worry about Covid-19: 'I can't bring it back home [LINK]
‘Hunker down’: Kansas City doctors warn parents their teens are spreading COVID-19 [LINK]
Man spit at 69-year-old woman at Walmart after she asked him to wear mask, PA cops say [LINK]
Experts warn against ‘false sense of security’ as the number of children with COVID-19 increases in Dallas County [LINK]
Jacksonville Sheriff Says “Past the Point of No Return” on Safely Hosting RNC [LINK]
Politicians and Business Interests Pushed Health Officials Aside to Control Reopening. Then Cases Exploded. [Utah] [LINK]
A very dark feeling’: Hundreds camp out in Oklahoma unemployment lines [LINK]
10 charts that show why the coronavirus pandemic may be about to get a lot worse in Colorado [LINK]
COVID-19 Around the World
Unlike the United States, more and more countries are making masks mandatory [LINK]
As COVID-19 pandemic rages on, experts say it's unlikely Tokyo Olympics can be held next summer [LINK]
German Scientists Are Holding A Music Concert To See How Covid-19 Spreads At Mass Gatherings [LINK]
Ireland Donates World's Most Successful Contact Tracing App to the Linux Foundation [LINK]
New experimental treatment lowers mortality by 65% in patients experiencing cytokine storm syndrome. [DUTCH]
Greta Thunberg donates £90,000 to help Amazon tribes fight disease [LINK]
Palestinian Man Scales Hospital Wall to Bid Final Goodbye to His Mother Who Died of Covid-19 [LINK]
Creepy corona late effects Unsettled patients, concerned doctors - German article Translation in the comments [GERMAN]
Austria reintroducing face mask requirement in supermarkets, banks [LINK]
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Published at 6:00pm on Tuesday, July 21, 2020
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