Top COVID-19 stories for Friday, June 12, 2020
Following medical news for 30 years helps me spot what matters most
Sharp rise in new COVID-19 cases in three states
Face masks work better than any other COVID-19 control measure
Coronavirus politics complicates a public health problem
This week has confirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic is getting worse, not better, even though most communities across the United States are acting as if the virus is gone. That message isn’t resonating because people are confused about the science, there are powerful people putting out conflicting — and usually wrong — information, and human nature draws people to whatever may be easiest. Plus, thousands of people got close together in recent protests, and not all of them wore masks. COVID-19 has infected more than 2 million Americans and caused nearly 114,000 deaths.
In this case, the easy options — like leaving face coverings home or going out for dinner with friends — are the kind of activities that contribute to new infections. Perhaps most disturbing is the discovery that some of the new clusters are directly attributable to individuals who went to church, parties, or other gatherings even though they had symptoms of COVID-19 illness. Community and business leaders must account for this human factor as they reopen.
Here are today’s headlines:
First wave grows in 20 states while second wave starts in other countries: The numbers are going up again in India and Belgium, while hospital beds are nearing capacity in several states. Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oregon, and Nebraska all reported a record number of new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, according to Reuters. This set of charts from the New York Times tells the story visually. Some of the increase can be attributed to increased testing, but relaxed social distancing explains much of it, too. Arizona, South Carolina and Arkansas have seen some of the most dramatic increases this week, according to Johns Hopkins.
Another study supports face coverings: Chinese scientists compared different mitigation measures between China and the United States and conclude that face coverings are the most important way to reduce COVID-19 spread, because droplets containing the virus survive in the air longer than initially thought. “The current mitigation measures, such as social distancing, quarantine, and isolation implemented in the United States, are insufficient by themselves in protecting the public,” they write in the scientific journal PNAS.
Poor housing a risk factor for COVID-19: Agricultural workers and others who live in crowded homes are suffering greatly from COVID-19, reports the Salinas Californian. One-third of Monterey County’s COVID-19 cases come from one zip code, even though only 14% of the county’s population lives there. Similar data has emerged from New York, Singapore and elsewhere in California.
Public health leaders ousted in California, Ohio, Texas and other locations: “Elected officials and members of the public who are frustrated with the lockdowns and safety restrictions have at times turned public health workers into politicized punching bags, battering them with countless angry calls and even physical threats,” says a disturbing report by the Associated Press and Kaiser Health News that documents threats and firings of public health officials around the country.
In Orange County, Calif., the interim replacement health director immediately rescinded his predecessor’s mandatory face covering order. The mayor of nearby Long Beach, which is in Los Angeles County, says the move is “totally irresponsible” and fears it will increase risk in his community.
Former CDC directors Richard Besser and Jeffrey Koplan write in Barron’s on their dismay over poor communications about COVID-19 and what could have been and must be done differently. In particular, they dissect the most recent confusion over asymptomatic contagion resulting from unclear communication from a WHO scientist. “When Maria Van Kerkhove walked back her statement about asymptomatic transmission a day later, noting that how often people without symptoms spread the disease ‘is a major unknown,’ the damage already had been done,” the physician-leaders write.
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board says “headlines about a coronavirus resurgence in the U.S. are overblown so far, and the bigger threat is keeping the economy in a coma.” The newspaper also published a report on “mistakes” made by New York officials that made the pandemic worse, not better. Previously, researchers at MIT showed how reductions in subway service contributed to the infection rate because more people crowded into fewer trains - at the very time that social distancing was important.
Not COVID-19 related but too good not to share:
Determined to break through the tension between National Guard members and protesters on the streets of Atlanta, Amisha Harding used music and dance to shift the mood. Her persistence led to this amazing scene last Friday:
That’s it for today. Keep your face covered, hands washed, and stay safe.