Tag: Coronavirus

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Coronavirus: Global Covid-19 death toll passes one million – BBC News

UN chief António Guterres calls it “an agonising milestone” as the fight to stem the virus continues.

The tally by Johns Hopkins University shows that deaths in the US, Brazil and India make up nearly half that total.

Experts caution that the true figure is probably much higher.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called it a “mind-numbing” figure and “an agonising milestone”.

“Yet we must never lose sight of each and every individual life,” he said in a video message.

“They were fathers and mothers, wives and husbands, brothers and sisters, friends and colleagues. The pain has been multiplied by the savageness of this disease.”

The development comes nearly 10 months after news of the coronavirus began to emerge from Wuhan, China.

Source: Coronavirus: Global Covid-19 death toll passes one million – BBC News

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National Guard at Westmoreland Co. nursing home to help with COVID-19 outbreak

GREENSBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania National Guard arrived at a Westmoreland County nursing home Sunday morning to help control an outbreak of COVID-19.

There are 47 confirmed cases among patients at Westmoreland Manor, and 22 staff members have also tested positive.

The guard will take over COVID-19 testing so the employees who aren’t quarantined can get back to caring for patient

Source: National Guard at Westmoreland Co. nursing home to help with COVID-19 outbreak

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Updated CDC guidance says coronavirus can spread through the air

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated guidance on its website to say coronavirus can commonly spread “through respiratory droplets or small particles, such as those in aerosols,” which are produced even when a person breathes.

“Airborne viruses, including COVID-19, are among the most contagious and easily spread,” the site now says.

Previously, the CDC page said that COVID-19 was thought to spread mainly between people in close contact — about 6 feet — and “through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.”

The page, updated Friday, still says COVID-19 most commonly spreads between people who are in close contact with one another, and now says the virus is known to spread “through respiratory droplets or small particles, such as those in aerosols, produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, talks or breathes.”

These particles can cause infection when “inhaled into the nose, mouth, airways, and lungs,” it says. “This is thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”

Protect yourself and others

The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. You can take steps to slow the spread.

Learn more about what you can do to protect yourself and others.

Source: Updated CDC guidance says coronavirus can spread through the air

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Covid-19: UK could face 50,000 cases a day by October without action – Vallance – BBC News

“Speed” and “action” are required to halt the rise in cases, the UK’s chief scientific adviser warns.

Sir Patrick Vallance said that “would be expected to lead to about 200 deaths per day” a month after that.

It comes as the PM prepares to chair a Cobra emergency committee meeting on Tuesday morning, followed by a statement in the House of Commons.

On Sunday, a further 3,899 daily cases and 18 deaths were reported in the UK.

Speaking at Downing Street alongside chief medical adviser, Prof Chris Whitty, Sir Patrick stressed the figures given were not a prediction, but added: “At the moment we think the epidemic is doubling roughly every seven days.

Source: Covid-19: UK could face 50,000 cases a day by October without action – Vallance – BBC News

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CDC chief Dr. Redfield says coronavirus deaths could start to fall next week

Director of the CDC Dr. Robert Redfield said that daily new cases still remain high and he’d like to bring that number down below 10,000 new cases per day.

KEY POINTS
  • Daily new cases of the coronavirus have been on a sustained decline since the end of July, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
  • Deaths, which lag behind new cases as people fall ill, become hospitalized and die, have remained stubbornly high, at roughly 1,000 new Covid-19 deaths per day, on average, according to a CNBC analysis of Hopkins data.
  •  “I think we’re going to start to see a decline in mortality across the country now next week as we continue to get control of these cases,” Director of the CDC Dr. Robert Redfield said Thursday.

Source: CDC chief Dr. Redfield says coronavirus deaths could start to fall next week

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Wolf extends stay-at-home order for ‘red’ counties to June 4; more move to ‘yellow’ Friday | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday extended the stay-at-home order to June 4 for all counties in the red phase of Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 reopening plan.

The stay-at-home order was originally set to expire on Friday. The governor’s office on Friday will announce additional counties moving to the yellow phase “at a to-be-determined date.”

All of southwestern Pennsylvania is currently in the red phase.

“[The] extension of the original order does not preclude counties moving into the yellow phase earlier than June 4,” Mark Nicastre, communications director for Mr. Wolf, said. “The extension of the overall order was necessary because it was expiring tonight.”

Allegheny County spokesperson Amie Downs said the county would wait until the governor announced the new yellow regions before making a comment on the stay-at-home extension.

County Executive Rich Fitzgerald recently expressed optimism about the county’s numbers, and hoped the county would open soon.

“It is our understanding that Gov. Wolf will be making an announcement on May 8, and we’re certainly hopeful that the southwest region does go from red to yellow,” Mr. Fitzgerald said this week.

The county has averaged 22 new cases per 100,000 people over the last 14 days, under the state’s target of 50 new cases.

Source: Wolf extends stay-at-home order for ‘red’ counties to June 4; more move to ‘yellow’ Friday | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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Latrobe, Greensburg, New Kensington ZIP codes tops in Westmoreland for coronavirus cases | TribLIVE.com

The state Department of Health map includes information for all 67 counties.

The ZIP codes in Westmoreland County with the highest numbers of confirmed cases are Latrobe (15650) with 68, Greensburg (15601) with 38 and New Kensington (15068, including part of Allegheny) with 35, according to state figures. The county has 291 confirmed cases.

ZIP codes often include multiple municipalities or parts of several communities, such as 15068 — which includes New Kensington, Arnold, Lower Burrell, Upper Burrell and parts of Allegheny Township, Murrysville and Plum. The number of cases listed includes the entire ZIP code.

Allegheny County has reported positive covid-19 cases down to the municipal level using an online map since late March.

Source: Latrobe, Greensburg, New Kensington ZIP codes tops in Westmoreland for coronavirus cases | TribLIVE.com

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What are the main modes of transmission for COVID-19? | Live Science

The new coronavirus has upended all of our usual calculus about seemingly ordinary activities. Is running past someone on the street safe? How about shopping in a grocery store with a 6-foot (2 meters) distance? And what about packages and takeout? And which of these activities poses the biggest risk?Unfortunately, there’s a lot we still don’t know about the way the virus that causes COVID-19 spreads.”At this point, I don’t think anyone can take a group of people with COVID, say how each person has become infected, and then say that xx% got infected with droplets and yy% got infected via touching surfaces,” Dr. Jeffrey N. Martin, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco, told Live Science in an email. “I don’t think this kind of study has ever been done for any infection. In most individual persons, we do not know how the person got infected.

 

—Coronavirus in the US: Map & cases 

—What are the symptoms of COVID-19? 

—How deadly is the new coronavirus? 

—How long does coronavirus last on surfaces? 

—Is there a cure for COVID-19? 

—How does COVID-19 compare with seasonal flu? 

—How does the coronavirus spread? 

—Can people spread the coronavirus after they recover?

Source: What are the main modes of transmission for COVID-19? | Live Science

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Pittsburgh food bank president worries about supply running out | TribLIVE.com

Lisa Scales has worked in food banks for nearly 25 years. She was involved in food distribution efforts in response to Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and to the 9/11 attacks in New York.

She has never experienced anything like the need associated with the coronavirus pandemic.

“I have never seen a spike in need to this degree,” said Scales, president and CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. “I have never seen need like we’ve seen in the past several weeks in the Pittsburgh region and frankly across the country.”

Scales is facing a harsh reality that the current need for food is greater than the food bank’s supply can meet.

So far, the food bank has held four large-scale, drive-up distributions and served boxes of food to over 5,000 cars. It has more distributions planned and is developing other methods of getting food into the community. But Scales believes that in the midst of the covid-19 crisis, the food bank has met its match.

“It’s hard for me to say this, but the need is so significant that, despite our best efforts, I know that we will not be able to meet all of the need that’s in the community throughout the entirety of the crisis,” Scales said.

EMAIL NEWSLETTERS 

Source: Pittsburgh food bank president worries about supply running out | TribLIVE.com

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Will zinc supplements protect against coronavirus? | Fox News

Dr. Manny explains whether you should be taking zinc supplements to help prevent COVID-19.

Dear. Dr. Manny, 

I’ve read that zinc supplements may help protect me against COVID-19. Is there any truth to that? 

Thanks for your question.

Right now, the most important measure that you can take to protect yourself from the novel coronavirus is social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and following the guidelines that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has put out for self-quarantine.

However, I do understand your question.

MONITORING FOR CORONAVIRUS: WHAT IS AN OXIMETER? 

Zinc supplements have been touted for many years to be effective in shortening the phase of common colds, and there is data to support that impression.

There have been many randomized controlled trials that have shown that zinc supplements can inhibit replication of the common cold viruses and, therefore, reduce the average duration of a common cold.

Source: Will zinc supplements protect against coronavirus? | Fox News

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Louisiana pastor who defied coronavirus order arrested on misdemeanor charges | Fox News

The pastor of Lousiana megachurch was arrested on misdemeanor charges for holding Sunday services for hundreds of followers in the face of a state-wide coronavirus large gathering ban.

The criminal action against Pastor Tony Spell comes a day after Rev. Rodney Howard-Browne, the pastor of another megachurch, River at Tampa Bay Church in Florida, was arrested and charged with violating a local coronavirus stay-at-home order when he held services over the weekend that drew large crowds.

Spell’s service Sunday drew an estimated 500 people of all ages to Life Tabernacle Church in Central.

On Tuesday Central police charged Spell with six counts of violating the Louisiana governor’s ban on large gatherings that was enacted to contain the sometimes-deadly coronavirus.

Source: Louisiana pastor who defied coronavirus order arrested on misdemeanor charges | Fox News

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