Can We Really Bank On Hotter Weather Saving Us From Coronavirus? Scientists Say It’s Unlikely To Disappear
Judging by how the virus may have responded to temperatures so far, the study suggests areas just north of its current zone may be most vulnerable through April. But much like with everything on the virus at the moment, it's hard to predict and take all influences into account. Meanwhile, a study finds that the virus can live on surfaces for up to three days. In other news: calming your anxiety over the outbreak; a look at what coronavirus does to the body; why closing schools matters; and more.
The Washington Post:
A Seasonal Cycle To The Coronavirus Epidemic Is Possible, But It Is Unlikely To Disappear
As cases of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, rapidly increase in the United States and other parts of the world, epidemiologists and other researchers are urgently trying to learn more about the pathogen involved. One question that some virus specialists, and some meteorologists, are asking is whether there may be a seasonal aspect to this outbreak. In other words, is this more like the flu, which has a distinct winter peak in the United States and Europe and then ebbs for the spring and summer? Or is this here to stay at a high level of spread throughout the warm season? (Freedman and Samenow, 3/11)
The Associated Press:
Tests Show New Virus Lives On Some Surfaces For Up To 3 Days
The new coronavirus can live in the air for several hours and on some surfaces for as long as two to three days, tests by U.S. government and other scientists have found. Their work, published Wednesday, doesn't prove that anyone has been infected through breathing it from the air or by touching contaminated surfaces, researchers stress. (3/11)
The Hill:
Tests Indicate Coronavirus Can Survive In The Air
Federally funded tests conducted by scientists from several major institutions indicated that the novel form of coronavirus behind a worldwide outbreak can survive in the air for several hours. A study awaiting peer review from scientists at Princeton University, the University of California-Los Angeles and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) posted online Wednesday indicated that the COVID-19 virus could remain viable in the air "up to 3 hours post aerosolization," while remaining alive on plastic and other surfaces for up to three days. (Bowden, 3/11)
The Washington Post:
Coronavirus Fears Can Be Debilitating For People With Anxiety Disorders
A traumatized veteran’s combat dreams are more vivid than they have been in years. A little girl can’t concentrate at school, terrified that her grandparents will get infected with coronavirus and die. A person who had stopped obsessively washing his hands regresses amid a barrage of public-service messages ordering him to do exactly that. (Berkowitz, 3/11)
Stat:
7 Reasons Why It's Hard To Control Your Coronavirus Anxiety
The novel coronavirus has a long list of terrifying characteristics, spurring people from Japan to Europe to the U.S. to engage in panic buying, devour news coverage, steal hand sanitizer and face masks, fret that a throat tickle might mean a fatal illness, enter prepper mode, and otherwise succumb to Covid-19 anxiety. “We are seeing increasing levels of anxiety [in the U.S.] over a relatively short period of time,” said Vaile Wright, director of clinical research and quality at the American Psychological Association. (Begley, 3/12)
The New York Times:
What Does Coronavirus Do To The Body?
As cases of coronavirus infection proliferate around the world and governments take extraordinary measures to limit the spread, there is still a lot of confusion about what exactly the virus does to people’s bodies. The symptoms — fever, cough, shortness of breath — can signal any number of illnesses, from flu to strep to the common cold. Here is what medical experts and researchers have learned so far about the progression of the infection caused by this new coronavirus — and what they still don’t know. (Belluck, 3/11)
CIDRAP:
Old Age, Sepsis Tied To Poor COVID-19 Outcomes, Death
An observational study today in The Lancet that involved seriously ill adults hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 early in the outbreak in Wuhan, China, found that advanced age, signs of sepsis, and blood clotting issues were all risk factors for in-hospital death. Knowing these risk factors could help healthcare providers identify COVID-19 patients with a poor prognosis early on, according to the authors of the retrospective cohort study, which involved patients hospitalized from Dec 29, 2019, to Jan 31, 2020. (Van Beusekom, 3/10)
The Associated Press:
Scientist Links 2 State Outbreaks With Genetic Fingerprints
A U.S. scientist is helping public health authorities understand and track the coronavirus, turning up clues about how it arrived and spread through Washington state and beyond, including potentially seeding an outbreak on the Grand Princess cruise ship. ... Like a detective studying fingerprints, Bedford uses the genetic code the virus leaves behind. The dots he connects are mutations in the genetic alphabet of the virus, a 30,000-letter string that changes at the rate of one letter every 15 days. (3/11)
ABC News:
Coronavirus And The Homeless: Why They're Especially At Risk, Ways To Stop A Spread 'Like Wildfire'
As more people across the United States test positive for the novel coronavirus and as the death toll climbs, those experiencing homelessness are among the most vulnerable to contract the virus, experts say. Over 560,000 Americans were homeless on a single night in January 2019, according to the most recent point-time-count from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. About 63% of those people were in sheltered locations and about 37% were unsheltered, according to HUD. (Shapiro, 3/11)
Los Angeles Times:
Why You Should Stop Obsessing About Coronavirus News
It’s 1 in the morning and you can’t stop reading about the coronavirus. Maybe you want to know if you should cancel your trip to Hawaii over spring break or whether your kid’s school will be closed, or how many people are likely to die. You look for answers on websites you trust, along with some you’re not so sure about. And when you can’t find conclusive information, you keep searching, clicking and reading. (Netburn, 3/11)
CNN:
The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Closing Schools. How Will Kids Eat?
A school district in New York has canceled classes and activities until next week because a faculty member contracted the novel coronavirus. Seattle Public Schools, near the epicenter of an outbreak in Washington, says a staff member tested positive for the virus this week, triggering closures for a minimum of 14 days. And another district nearby has closed for up to two weeks and transitioned to "online learning" because a parent in the district has also contracted the disease. But as other schools deliberate shutting their doors to slow the spread of the coronavirus, some parents may be left to wonder: If schools close, how will my child eat? (Azad, 3/11)
NPR:
The Case For And Against Closing Schools Over Coronavirus
The spread of coronavirus has compelled hundreds of K-12 schools in the U.S. to close, affecting more than 850,000 students, according to an analysis by Education Week. And those numbers are certain to increase in the coming days, as concerned parents call for more school closures. The growing health crisis presents school leaders with a painful choice. Closing schools — as has been done, so far, in China, Japan, Italy and elsewhere — is a proven measure that has been shown to slow the spread of disease and, in turn, save lives. But it also causes huge economic and social disruption, especially for children, millions of whom depend on the free and reduced-cost meals they get at school. (Turner and Kamenetz, 3/11)
The New York Times:
The Silicon Valley Doctor Who Doesn’t Mince Words On Coronavirus Threat
A hoax? Just the flu? A serious pandemic? The conflicting messages as the coronavirus spreads across the nation leave Americans wondering what and who to believe. In Silicon Valley, a hot spot in the outbreak, one outspoken doctor boasts that his guidance comes with no spin and no political filter, despite efforts by some in his department to tone down his messages. “Nobody tells me what to say — nobody,” said Dr. Scott Morrow, the chief health officer for San Mateo County, which includes the headquarters of Facebook and many other big technology companies. (Fuller, 3/12)
The New York Times:
Maybe Now You’ll Stop Mocking Peloton
Under normal circumstances, Nicole Mereshensky works out about five times a week at various indoor cycling and high intensity interval training studios around Manhattan. “Fitness is everything to me,” said Ms Mereshensky, a mother of two school-age children. “It grounds me mentally more than anything.” But in the last week, she has been trying to weigh the anxiety of not working out against the worry of being sweated on or otherwise potentially exposed to the coronavirus. (Rosman and Bromwich, 3/12)
