COVID-19 Update for Tuesday, August 18, 2020 Latest Numbers from Macon County Public Health Added

Here is an index to assist you in moving from section to section within the article.

Back to Top
Videos
Pandemic Heroes
Macon County COVID-19 News
Research
Masks
Schools
COVID-19 in the USA
COVID-19 Around the World
Sports, Entertainment, and Other Crowded Venues
CROWDFUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES



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.

Back to Top

---

Macon County COVID-19 News

Data from Macon County Public Health as of July 20th and graph by Macon Media of data from May 30th to July 20th [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.





497 Detected Cases (+7 since Friday)
35 Active Positive (unchanged since Friday)
458 Recovered (+7 in one day since Friday)
4 Death (unchanged since Friday)

Testing Data for Macon County

4540 MCPH Tests (+97 since Friday)
1680 Tests by Others (+30 since Friday)
6220 Total Tests (+265 since Friday)
131 Tests Pending Results (+83 since Friday)


---BEGIN SPONSOR SEGMENT---

DAY SPONSOR

Carrion Tree Service is underwriting Macon Media for today. they are a fully licensed and insured tree service, specializing in dangerous tree removal, view clearing, pruning, and crane services with a 24 Hour emergency response.

Their phone number is 371-4718.

They can handle all your tree removal needs in good or bad weather.

---END SPONSOR SEGMENT---

Macon County Schools Update

Schools started back on Monday, August 17th with most children attending school twice a week for in-person instruction. High School students will attend one day a week, with an opportunity for extrs instruction on Fridays.

Press Release

During the regular scheduled Board of Education meeting held Monday evening, August 17th, Superintendent Dr. Chris Baldwin confirmed that Friday, August 14th, a staff member had tested positive for COVID-19. Dr. Baldwin also confirmed that other staff members were exposed on Monday , August 17th after parents who had tested positive entered the school building. Macon County Schools is working diligently with the Macon County Health Department to contact trace for other possible exposures. When a complete list of staff members are identified, the locations will be named.

Macon County Public Health Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19
(Press Release)

Macon County has identified that a Macon County Public Health employee has tested positive for COVID-19.
The employee is isolating at home and doing well. Close contacts of the employee have been notified and
tested. The necessary steps to disinfect the affected area have been performed.
Since March, Macon County has implemented strong infection control standards in all county facilities to
protect employees and citizens. These measures include:

• providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to employees who need it,
• limiting access to county building and congregate areas,
• implementing a health screening process for all employees, such as taking temperatures before work,
• assuring that employees who work in an office-based setting are maintaining social distancing
measures,
• moving to appointment-based services and limiting walk-in services, and
• implementing teleworking agreements for some personnel to work from home (should their job allow).

Macon County Public Health is confident the risk of exposure for employees and citizens is minimal, and by
implementing these measures, the county has been and will continue to provide services safely. This individual
has not had contact with the public.





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]



Back to Top

---

Videos

Dr John Campbell

A Torrent of Good News





How The COVID-19 Pandemic Will End | Answers With Joe






Back to Top

---

Pandemic Heroes


Lost on the Frontline [LINK]




Back to Top

---

Research Papers, Clinical Trials, and News About Such



Federal and state websites flunk COVID-19 reading-level review [LINK]

What the immune response to COVID-19 says about the prospects for a vaccine. [LINK]

Who wants to reopen the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic? The daring and uncaring [LINK]

Social distancing to slow the US COVID-19 epidemic: Longitudinal pretest–posttest comparison group study [LINK]

SinoPharm’s Inactivated Coronavirus Vaccine [LINK]

Mild COVID-19 cases can produce strong T cell response (press release) [LINK]

Broad neutralization of SARS-related viruses by human monoclonal antibodies [LINK]

Encouraging News About Coronavirus Immunity [LINK]

A preliminary study on contact tracing & transmission chain in a cluster of 17 cases of SARS-COV2 infection in Basti, Uttar Pradesh, India [LINK]

In situ structural analysis of SARS-CoV-2 spike reveals flexibility mediated by three hinges [LINK]

COVID-19 complications: High oxygen flow from ventilators changes microbiota, makes lungs vulnerable to damage [LINK]




Back to Top

---

Masks, Masks, Masks
(Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!)

The history and value of face masks [LINK]

Rail passenger kicked off train in ‘the middle of nowhere’ after refusing to wear mask. [LINK]

Masks in public restrooms? Urinals may shoot 'plumes' of inhalable coronavirus particles into the air [LINK]



Back to Top

---

Back to School


Download a PDF of "LIGHTING OUR WAY FORWARD: North Carolina's Guidebook for Re-opening Schools" [LINK]

Tech hiccups plague virtual instruction across NC on first day of classes [LINK]

More than 2,000 students, 500 teachers in Mississippi in quarantine due to COVID-19 [LINK]

'Unprecedented': Los Angeles schools to test all 600,000 students for Covid-19 | Nation’s second-largest school district says it will provide regular Covid-19 testing and contact tracing for students, staff and families [LINK]

UNC-Chapel Hill makes all undergrad classes remote after 135 COVID cases in first week [LINK]

Schools Are Reopening, Then Quickly Closing Due to Coronavirus Outbreaks. Campuses are shutting down in-person learning indefinitely or for a couple of days to deep clean buildings. [LINK] [[NO PAYWALL]]



Back to Top

---

COVID-19 in the USA


Exclusive: Walgreens Pharmacy coding error results in under-reporting of 59,000 COVID-19 test results statewide [LINK]

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Says COVID-19 Cases Must Drop Dramatically Before Bars Can Reopen [LINK]

Another warning from 1918 ‘Spanish flu’ for COVID-19: ‘Survival does not mean that individuals fully recovered’ [LINK]

Gov. Laura Kelly reimposes temporary statewide ban on foreclosures, evictions (Kansas) [LINK]

Doctors say they're dealing with significantly more patients who resist their advice because of misinformation they read online [LINK]

Jared Kushner dismisses “hysterical” reports, calls 170,000 coronavirus deaths a “success story" [LINK]

Trump allies push for FDA to approve another untested Covid treatment [LINK]

Medical professionals say Arkansas COVID-19 deaths are higher than reported [LINK]

White House focus on oleandrin treatment for coronavirus would be 'nonsense,' experts say [LINK]

Did coronavirus lay the groundwork for nationwide protests against systemic racism? [LINK]




Back to Top

---

COVID-19 Around the World



South Korea bans all religious meetings in ‘last ditch’ bid to quash new outbreak [LINK]

WHO says people in 20s, 30s, 40s increasingly driving pandemic [LINK]

UK rates of depression double among adults during lockdown [LINK]

Australia signs agreement with Oxford University to guarantee supply of coronavirus vaccine [LINK]

Quebec unveils action plan for potential second coronavirus wave [LINK]

Mystery of New Zealand’s new COVID outbreak deepens as it rules out primary suspect [LINK]

Oxford Covid-19 vaccine phase 3 trials begin in India [LINK]

Female-led countries handled coronavirus better, study suggests [LINK]

Coronavirus: Finland is stockpiling paracetamol over fears of a second wave [LINK]

Australia to manufacture coronavirus vaccine and inoculate people for free, says PM Morrison [LINK]

Namibia warns about elephant dung cure for coronavirus as cases rise [LINK]




Back to Top

---

Sports, Entertainment, Public Transportation, and Other Crowded Venues


Cellphone Data Shows How Las Vegas Is “Gambling With Lives” Across the Country [LINK]

Fukuoka forbids cruise ships until vaccine or cure | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News [LINK]




Back to Top

---

CROWDFUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES


If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month. Those who support Macon Media with at least a dollar a month receive early access to video of some events and meetings before they are made public on the website. Videos and news involving public safety are not subject to early access.



Become a Patron!
Or, if you prefer Pay Pal, try PayPal.me/MaconMedia


Published at 6:00pm on Tuesday, August 18, 2020





Here is an index to assist you in moving from section to section within the article.

Back to Top
Videos
Pandemic Heroes
Macon County COVID-19 News
Research
Masks
Schools
COVID-19 in the USA
COVID-19 Around the World
Sports, Entertainment, and Other Crowded Venues
CROWDFUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES



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.

Back to Top

---

Macon County COVID-19 News

Data from Macon County Public Health as of July 20th and graph by Macon Media of data from May 30th to July 20th [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.





497 Detected Cases (+7 since Friday)
35 Active Positive (unchanged since Friday)
458 Recovered (+7 in one day since Friday)
4 Death (unchanged since Friday)

Testing Data for Macon County

4540 MCPH Tests (+97 since Friday)
1680 Tests by Others (+30 since Friday)
6220 Total Tests (+265 since Friday)
131 Tests Pending Results (+83 since Friday)


---BEGIN SPONSOR SEGMENT---

DAY SPONSOR

Carrion Tree Service is underwriting Macon Media for today. they are a fully licensed and insured tree service, specializing in dangerous tree removal, view clearing, pruning, and crane services with a 24 Hour emergency response.

Their phone number is 371-4718.

They can handle all your tree removal needs in good or bad weather.

---END SPONSOR SEGMENT---

Macon County Schools Update

Schools started back on Monday, August 17th with most children attending school twice a week for in-person instruction. High School students will attend one day a week, with an opportunity for extrs instruction on Fridays.

Press Release

During the regular scheduled Board of Education meeting held Monday evening, August 17th, Superintendent Dr. Chris Baldwin confirmed that Friday, August 14th, a staff member had tested positive for COVID-19. Dr. Baldwin also confirmed that other staff members were exposed on Monday , August 17th after parents who had tested positive entered the school building. Macon County Schools is working diligently with the Macon County Health Department to contact trace for other possible exposures. When a complete list of staff members are identified, the locations will be named.

Macon County Public Health Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19
(Press Release)

Macon County has identified that a Macon County Public Health employee has tested positive for COVID-19.
The employee is isolating at home and doing well. Close contacts of the employee have been notified and
tested. The necessary steps to disinfect the affected area have been performed.
Since March, Macon County has implemented strong infection control standards in all county facilities to
protect employees and citizens. These measures include:

• providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to employees who need it,
• limiting access to county building and congregate areas,
• implementing a health screening process for all employees, such as taking temperatures before work,
• assuring that employees who work in an office-based setting are maintaining social distancing
measures,
• moving to appointment-based services and limiting walk-in services, and
• implementing teleworking agreements for some personnel to work from home (should their job allow).

Macon County Public Health is confident the risk of exposure for employees and citizens is minimal, and by
implementing these measures, the county has been and will continue to provide services safely. This individual
has not had contact with the public.





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]



Back to Top

---

Videos

Dr John Campbell

A Torrent of Good News





How The COVID-19 Pandemic Will End | Answers With Joe






Back to Top

---

Pandemic Heroes


Lost on the Frontline [LINK]




Back to Top

---

Research Papers, Clinical Trials, and News About Such



Federal and state websites flunk COVID-19 reading-level review [LINK]

What the immune response to COVID-19 says about the prospects for a vaccine. [LINK]

Who wants to reopen the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic? The daring and uncaring [LINK]

Social distancing to slow the US COVID-19 epidemic: Longitudinal pretest–posttest comparison group study [LINK]

SinoPharm’s Inactivated Coronavirus Vaccine [LINK]

Mild COVID-19 cases can produce strong T cell response (press release) [LINK]

Broad neutralization of SARS-related viruses by human monoclonal antibodies [LINK]

Encouraging News About Coronavirus Immunity [LINK]

A preliminary study on contact tracing & transmission chain in a cluster of 17 cases of SARS-COV2 infection in Basti, Uttar Pradesh, India [LINK]

In situ structural analysis of SARS-CoV-2 spike reveals flexibility mediated by three hinges [LINK]

COVID-19 complications: High oxygen flow from ventilators changes microbiota, makes lungs vulnerable to damage [LINK]




Back to Top

---

Masks, Masks, Masks
(Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!)

The history and value of face masks [LINK]

Rail passenger kicked off train in ‘the middle of nowhere’ after refusing to wear mask. [LINK]

Masks in public restrooms? Urinals may shoot 'plumes' of inhalable coronavirus particles into the air [LINK]



Back to Top

---

Back to School


Download a PDF of "LIGHTING OUR WAY FORWARD: North Carolina's Guidebook for Re-opening Schools" [LINK]

Tech hiccups plague virtual instruction across NC on first day of classes [LINK]

More than 2,000 students, 500 teachers in Mississippi in quarantine due to COVID-19 [LINK]

'Unprecedented': Los Angeles schools to test all 600,000 students for Covid-19 | Nation’s second-largest school district says it will provide regular Covid-19 testing and contact tracing for students, staff and families [LINK]

UNC-Chapel Hill makes all undergrad classes remote after 135 COVID cases in first week [LINK]

Schools Are Reopening, Then Quickly Closing Due to Coronavirus Outbreaks. Campuses are shutting down in-person learning indefinitely or for a couple of days to deep clean buildings. [LINK] [[NO PAYWALL]]



Back to Top

---

COVID-19 in the USA


Exclusive: Walgreens Pharmacy coding error results in under-reporting of 59,000 COVID-19 test results statewide [LINK]

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Says COVID-19 Cases Must Drop Dramatically Before Bars Can Reopen [LINK]

Another warning from 1918 ‘Spanish flu’ for COVID-19: ‘Survival does not mean that individuals fully recovered’ [LINK]

Gov. Laura Kelly reimposes temporary statewide ban on foreclosures, evictions (Kansas) [LINK]

Doctors say they're dealing with significantly more patients who resist their advice because of misinformation they read online [LINK]

Jared Kushner dismisses “hysterical” reports, calls 170,000 coronavirus deaths a “success story" [LINK]

Trump allies push for FDA to approve another untested Covid treatment [LINK]

Medical professionals say Arkansas COVID-19 deaths are higher than reported [LINK]

White House focus on oleandrin treatment for coronavirus would be 'nonsense,' experts say [LINK]

Did coronavirus lay the groundwork for nationwide protests against systemic racism? [LINK]




Back to Top

---

COVID-19 Around the World



South Korea bans all religious meetings in ‘last ditch’ bid to quash new outbreak [LINK]

WHO says people in 20s, 30s, 40s increasingly driving pandemic [LINK]

UK rates of depression double among adults during lockdown [LINK]

Australia signs agreement with Oxford University to guarantee supply of coronavirus vaccine [LINK]

Quebec unveils action plan for potential second coronavirus wave [LINK]

Mystery of New Zealand’s new COVID outbreak deepens as it rules out primary suspect [LINK]

Oxford Covid-19 vaccine phase 3 trials begin in India [LINK]

Female-led countries handled coronavirus better, study suggests [LINK]

Coronavirus: Finland is stockpiling paracetamol over fears of a second wave [LINK]

Australia to manufacture coronavirus vaccine and inoculate people for free, says PM Morrison [LINK]

Namibia warns about elephant dung cure for coronavirus as cases rise [LINK]




Back to Top

---

Sports, Entertainment, Public Transportation, and Other Crowded Venues


Cellphone Data Shows How Las Vegas Is “Gambling With Lives” Across the Country [LINK]

Fukuoka forbids cruise ships until vaccine or cure | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News [LINK]




Back to Top

---

CROWDFUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES


If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month. Those who support Macon Media with at least a dollar a month receive early access to video of some events and meetings before they are made public on the website. Videos and news involving public safety are not subject to early access.



Become a Patron!
Or, if you prefer Pay Pal, try PayPal.me/MaconMedia


Published at 6:00pm on Tuesday, August 18, 2020