#coronavirus covid-19 health australia medicine

[doctoru-au]

The Australian Healthcare System: An Overview for Aspiring GPs

Delving into the nitty-gritty of Australia's healthcare system can come across as a bit of a tall order, especially for those keen to step into the shoes of a General Practitioner (GP).

No worries though – we've dug deep, unravelled surprising truths such as how GPs play an absolute blinder as the linchpin in our intricate health ecosystem. This post is set out to give you a fair dinkum, plain sailing overview of Australia's healthcare system with a special spotlight on the GP's role and tips on how to manoeuvre it effectively.

So pull up your socks and gear up for an enlightening journey through one of the world’s top-notch healthcare models.

Key Takeaways

In Australia, the government and private health insurance fund healthcare. The government’s plan is called Medicare.

General Practitioners (GPs) are big players in the healthcare system. They care for people all their life. To become a GP, you need to study hard and do lots of training.

A key part of being a GP now is stopping illness before it starts. This is new and offers fresh ways to help patients stay healthy.

The role of GPs will change more in the future as we start using tech tools better. Gathering info fast with tech can help improve patient care even more.

Understanding the Roles and Responsibilities of the Healthcare System

In this section, we delve into the various roles and responsibilities within the Australian Healthcare System, exploring how government involvement shapes policies, how private health insurance complements public funding, and lastly, understand the impact of developments like COVID-19 on our healthcare structure.

Government Involvement

The government in Australia plays a big part in our healthcare. They give money and run the system. The rules for health care across the country are set by them. This includes how private health insurance works.

Our government also keeps an eye on medicine and tools for treating people. Medicare is a plan from the government that helps cover costs when we see a doctor or go to hospital. It makes sure everyone can get help when they need it, no matter their wallet size.

Private Health Insurance

Private health insurance plays a big role in Australia's healthcare system. It gives people extra choices for health care. Many Aussies use it to get care outside the public system.

It lets them be private patients in hospitals and helps pay for their care.

About half of all Australians buy private health insurance. Some use it to cover costs at private hospitals, or for dental work, and more. This kind of coverage is not needed to get basic health care services though.

Even with government funding, there are other sources of money for our healthcare system too. Private health insurers and non-government funders also help pay the bills. This makes sure that everyone can get the care they need when they need it most.

Impact of COVID-19

COVID-19 took the world by storm. It left a big mark on all countries, and Australia is no exception. Our healthcare system faced new trials in this health crisis. Things began to change fast.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) gave us data on these changes. They showed that coronavirus made a big dent in GP services - it's never happened before! To help with this, more money was given out.

We got extra funds and resources.

This support helped our sector go on during a tough time. Our General Practitioners had to do their jobs during the pandemic too! With more support measures, we could keep offering medical services as best we could under hard conditions.

Services Available in the Healthcare System

In Australia's robust healthcare system, patients have access to a wide array of services, including Medicare for public health coverage and private healthcare options; hospital services vary based on whether they're publicly or privately funded.

Medicare

Medicare is a key part of healthcare in Australia. It's the universal system that looks after the health of all Aussie and New Zealand citizens. Many services come under this, like primary care from general practitioners and most surgeries done by doctors.

Yet, Medicare doesn't cover everything. People have to pay for ambulance costs out of their own pocket. The same goes for eye tests by optometrists. So, we need to make sure our patients know about these things upfront.

While public health services fall under Medicare, private ones don't. Patients who want extra coverage often turn to private health insurance. This helps them use more healthcare options without worrying about money as much.

Private Healthcare

In Australia, many people choose private healthcare. It is not paid for by the government. Instead, it comes from places like private health insurers. About half of all Australians buy this extra help.

They use it to pay for things that can't be covered with public care alone. This includes staying in a private hospital and getting dental services.

Private hospitals and other health service providers are part of this system too. They offer their own services and they aren't run by the government. Here you will find specialist doctors and allied health workers ready to take care of you.

The option is always there for anyone who lives in Australia full time or seeks safety here as a refugee to go the private route if they want it or need it more than what is already free or cheap via Medicare.

Hospitals

In Australia, we have many public hospitals. These places are key parts of our healthcare system. They offer care to all Aussies and work with different health groups. Many people trust them because they are safe and don't cost much.

We also have some special types of hospitals. There are teaching ones where doctors learn new skills. We also have rural ones that help people who live far from big cities. Some other kinds include outpatient clinics and community health centres too which provide great service for everyone in need.

The Role of General Practitioners in Australia

In Australia, General Practitioners (GPs) are the cornerstone of our health system, providing continuous and comprehensive medical care to individuals and families across their lifespan.

Let's dive deeper into the education and training requirements for becoming a GP in Australia, understand the complexities of working as a doctor in this country, explore how the role has evolved over time, and identify both challenges faced by these practitioners and opportunities available within this dynamic field.

Read on to delve into all things 'General Practice' in Australia!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6NX8uvTQ5E

Education and Training

Training hard and learning a lot is needed to become a GP in Australia. The first step is to get a medical degree from university. This course takes at least six years if starting from high school.

After that, the next step is an internship for one year where they begin treating patients under supervision.

The Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) Program helps our doctors get ready for work as GPs. This program gives 'hands-on' training in hospitals and clinics across Australia.

Our doctors also learn about different medical specialties during this time.

Finally, regular courses are there to keep all GPs updated with the newest ways of giving care. We call this "continuing education" or "professional development". It makes sure our GPs always know how best to help their patients.

Working as a Doctor in Australia: An Overview

Working in Australia as a doctor is both rewarding and vital. Our role as GPs forms the base of the healthcare system. From patient care to health outcomes, our work spans many paths.

We deal with preventive medicine, chronic disease management, and health promotion. These tasks need top-notch clinical skills.

Most Australians visit us at least once each year. That's why we're the most seen health experts in the country. For those wanting to join us from abroad, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has Fellowships for you! It’s a big step on your journey to working here with us.

Evolution of GP's Role

The role of GPs or family doctors in Australia has seen a big shift. Years ago, the main job was to treat sick people. Now, it is about much more than that.

GPs now work hard to stop health problems from happening in the first place. This type of care is called 'preventive healthcare'. It helps keep people healthy for longer. So they don't get sick as often.

Over the last 60 years, how we train our GPs has also changed a lot. We used to focus only on textbook learning but today, more hands-on training happens right at the heart of communities where real patients live and breathe every day.

This change brings along many new challenges but offers fresh opportunities too. Most important of all, it makes sure that you as a GP can offer better care for your patients' health over their whole lives.

Not just when they are sick.

Challenges and Opportunities

We often face many hurdles in our jobs as GPs. A big issue is burnout and poor work-life balance. We work long hours, see many patients, and have little time for breaks or other activities.

It can be hard to keep this pace up for a long time without feeling tired or stressed.

Another challenge is the lack of proper funding and resources from the Australian government. This has led to a shortage of doctors across the country. Hiring more staff and keeping them in their roles is not an easy task with limited budgets.

But it's not all gloom! There are fresh chances too. For one, we could use electronic health records more often to gather patient data quickly and easily. This could help us give better care by having all information at our fingertips when needed.

Continuing our education can also open doors. With new learning opportunities, we can improve patient care coordination skills among others areas of practice.

The Future of General Practice

Looking forward, we see technological advancements playing a significant role in general practice, fundamentally altering how GPs provide care. We also anticipate changes to the role of the GP within our healthcare system as Australia continues evolving to meet emerging health challenges head-on.

Technological Advancements

New tech tools are changing how we work in healthcare. As GPs, we now use mHealth technologies like wearable monitoring devices. These help us better manage patients with chronic diseases.

Tech also boosts our work and teaming up with other healthcare providers. This leads to better care for our patients. Tech plays a big part in the information management inside our general practice settings too.

It helps us with both clinical and administrative tasks.

The future of general practice looks set to be more teamed-up or grouped together. The focus will shift toward coordinated care and managing chronic disease using new tech tools. We see this as an exciting time for us GPs in Australia, full of change and fresh ways of doing things.

Changes in GP's Role

The work of GPs in Australia is changing. This is part of what the future holds for our roles as medical practitioners. We're taking on more tasks and expanding how we care for patients, especially in mental health care.

The government has seen our value and offers help so we can do this job well.

Burnout has long been a hurdle for us in the healthcare profession. Our work-life balance can get thrown out quite easily. But now, there's a new focus on preventing burnout and making life better for us GPs.

We created divisions within our profession to boost its importance. At times when support was lacking from the government, these divisions made sure we had what we needed. They have helped shape our career into what it is today – an essential element of Australia’s healthcare system.

Conclusion

We hope this blog has widened your understanding of the Australian healthcare system. For those intending to be GPs, it gives a clear view of what awaits you in the field. With the proper knowledge and skills, you can play an important role in improving patient care in Australia.

The future is bright for aspiring GPs!

FAQs

1. What is the role of a GP in the Australian healthcare system?

In Australia, GPs are important as they give primary care and work with other health professionals to manage patient's health.

2. Does Australia provide free healthcare for everyone?

Although not everything is free, Australia has a public health system called Medicare that covers part or all treatment costs for citizens.

3. How can I become a GP in Australia?

To become a GP in Australia, you must complete medical school and further training under The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.

4. Can foreign doctors work as GPs in Australia?Foreign doctors can work as GPs in Australia but must meet strict requirements including passing exams and getting their skills recognized.

5. Why is primary care essential in the Australian health system?Primary care is vital because it offers first contact for patients and handles ongoing personal patient needs across all ages, diseases, and parts of the body.

[coronaviruscorner]

Coronavirus Myths and Facts

I am writing this as a doctor with an interest in infectious diseases who is currently studying a masters of international public health. Myths and facts about COVID-19.

MYTHS

Myth: “COVID-19 is just like getting the flu”

COVID-19 is not just like the flu! The symptoms are often similar, that’s true. But there are key differences:

Influenza

Mortality: 0.1%

Vaccine availability: Vaccine updated yearly

Scientific understanding: Excellent

R0: 1.2

COVID-19

Mortality: ~3%

Vaccine availability: Does not exist

Scientific understanding: Limited, highly unpredictable

R0:2-4

Note: R0 is the number of people that the average infected person then goes on to infect

So essentially - coronavirus is much more contagious, is many times more deadly, there’s no vaccine and it’s highly unpredictable.

Myth: “Coronavirus is killed by warm weather”

I saw this floating around in a chain email purportedly from “Stanford University”, which claimed that a temperature of 26 degrees would kill the virus. There is no evidence to suggest this. If this were the case, the virus would die inside our bodies (~36 degrees) and nobody would get sick… It is important to note also that the WHO points out that cold weather similarly does not kill the virus.

Myth: “Drinking warm water kills viruses”

Nope. Water doesn’t have any toxic effects, and warming it slightly doesn’t change that. Even if it did, the virus is in your airways, not your stomach.

Myth: “If you have a runny nose, you cannot have COVID-19”

Another ridiculous claim. In general, in medicine, never/always statements are rarely correct, especially when looking at symptoms. There are always variations in symptoms between different people in the real world.

Myth: “Hand sanitiser is better than soap and water”

False. It’s the other way around. Soap breaks down the fatty bilayer which forms the “envelope” or wall of the viral particle. It does this in a similar way to ethanol-based handwashes, but most commercial hand sanitisers have a lower ethanol content and are not as effective. To be effective against coronavirus, your hand sanitiser should have at least a 60% ethanol content.

Myth: “I’m young and healthy, if I get coronavirus I’ll be fine”

Many young people who get COVID-19 will suffer a flu-like illness and not need hospitalisation but there’s also strong evidence that young healthy people can also get very sick with COVID-19. For example, more than 50% of patients admitted to ICU in France were under 60.

Myth: “If you can hold your breath for ten seconds without coughing, you cannot have COVID-19”

If it were that easy to diagnose coronavirus, the hospital and GP system would be under a whole lot less pressure. Once again, these simple, “too good to be true” claims are exactly that.

Myth: “Antibiotics can treat COVID-19”

Antibiotics have no activity against viruses - they are used exclusively for bacteria. Occasionally, very unwell people with COVID-19 may develop superimposed bacterial infections in hospital, and is this setting antibiotics will be used. But this is to treat the bacterial pneumonia, not the COVID-19 infection. Currently, there are no WHO-recommended medications to treat COVID-19, although reports are coming out of some countries that some antivirals usually used in treatment of hepatitis or HIV may be beneficial.

FACTS

Fact: Ibuprofen should be avoided in patients with COVID-19.

Ibuprofen, sold under brand names such as nurofen or advil, is an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug). It’s used for a variety of inflammatory conditions, and is also sometimes used for fever that is not responding to paracetamol. However, a paper was published on March 11 in the Lancet linking increased ACE2 levels (an enzyme that coronaviruses use to bind to target cells) with COVID-19 infection. This is relevant because ibuprofen can increase levels of ACE2, at least in rats. More research is needed in this area, but for now the WHO has recommended avoiding ibuprofenin COVID-19, and instead using paracetamol. This also implies that theremay be an argument for withholding ACE-Inhibitors (a common blood pressure medication) but the European Society of Cardiology recommends that they are continued.

Fact: Healthcare workers on the front line are doing their absolute best in a very difficult time.

Many of my best friends are working on the front lines as junior doctors, GPs, emergency or medical registrars, nurses, pharmacists and other allied health professions. They are doing their best, but the situation is constantly evolving, and guidelines continue to do change. As such, they may not test you for COVID-19 when you are expecting a test, or otherwise treat you in some way that differs from your expectations. Rest assured that they are working very hard to keep up to date, and to behave in a manner that prioritises not only your health, but also public health and the best possible allocation of resources. Please be patient and honest with, and kind to, them in these challenging times. Speaking as one of them, we really do care about you.

Fact: Panic buying deprives vulnerable people of vital necessities, and is completely unnecessary.

I’ve touched on this earlier, but please do not hoard groceries. Many elderly or people with disabilities do not have the luxury or option of visiting multiple stores, so if they go to a supermarket that has had its shelves cleared out, they have no backup option and may be forced to go without. If everyone were to return to how they shopped a month ago, everyone would have enough food!! The supermarkets never run out of pasta or toilet paper normally, and they will stop running out if people just shop normally. The supermarkets are not going to close, there is no need to hoard food.

Fact: We still have a lot of control over what happens over the next few weeks.

Here, we must learn from the examples of other countries. If we continue to treat COVID-19 with the same cavalier attitude, continuing to attend large events, public places like gyms, churches etc, we will follow in the footsteps of Italy, which now has over 30,000 cases and over 2,500 dead. The death toll there is now climbing by hundreds per day. On the other hand, a combination of widespread closures and shutdown measures, combined with individuals taking responsibility to do their absolute best, will see us closer to countries like Singapore or South Korea, which have dramatically curbed their cases.

Fact: Social distancing will save lives.

Social distancing will dramatically reduce coronavirus spread. This works both because undiagnosed cases of COVID-19 have less opportunity to spread, and because uninfected people have less opportunity to encounter coronavirus as you go about your life. So please take it seriously, even if you are feeling perfectly well. Stay home unless it is absolutely essential that you leave the house. Wash your hands often, with soap and water. Avoid touching your face.

In summary, we need to make informed, evidence-based decisions to combat this pandemic. It poses grave public health risks if not taken seriously, but we can do a lot to mitigate these risks. This needs to be led by Government, but in the absence of decisive leadership there, we must take the lead ourselves. But our response needs to be one that continues to look after the needs of our most vulnerable members of the community.

[intelligentliving]

Australian scientists at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity mapped how the body’s immune system responds to coronavirus. The study involved four spaced out sessions of blood sample testing. The blood came from an otherwise healthy 47-year-old woman who tested positive with COVID-19 and had mild-to-moderate symptoms. This...

[nickylovesrefugees]

Coronavirus myths and facts

I am writing this as a doctor with an interest in infectious diseases who is currently studying a masters of international public health. Myths and facts about COVID-19. Please share if you think this is worthwhile. References in link at the end.

MYTHS

Myth: “COVID-19 is just like getting the flu”

COVID-19 is not just like the flu! The symptoms are often similar, that’s true. But there are key differences:

Influenza

Mortality: 0.1%

Vaccine availability: Vaccine updated yearly

Scientific understanding: Excellent

R0: 1.2

COVID-19

Mortality: ~3%

Vaccine availability: Does not exist

Scientific understanding: Limited, highly unpredictable

R0:2-4

Note: R0 is the number of people that the average infected person then goes on to infect

So essentially - coronavirus is much more contagious, is many times more deadly, there’s no vaccine and it’s highly unpredictable.

Myth: “Coronavirus is killed by warm weather”

I saw this floating around in a chain email purportedly from “Stanford University”, which claimed that a temperature of 26 degrees would kill the virus. There is no evidence to suggest this. If this were the case, the virus would die inside our bodies (~36 degrees) and nobody would get sick… It is important to note also that the WHO points out that cold weather similarly does not kill the virus.

Myth: “Drinking warm water kills viruses”

Nope. Water doesn’t have any toxic effects, and warming it slightly doesn’t change that. Even if it did, the virus is in your airways, not your stomach.

Myth: “If you have a runny nose, you cannot have COVID-19”

Another ridiculous claim. In general, in medicine, never/always statements are rarely correct, especially when looking at symptoms. There are always variations in symptoms between different people in the real world.

Myth: “Hand sanitiser is better than soap and water”

False. It’s the other way around. Soap breaks down the fatty bilayer which forms the “envelope” or wall of the viral particle. It does this in a similar way to ethanol-based handwashes, but most commercial hand sanitisers have a lower ethanol content and are not as effective. To be effective against coronavirus, your hand sanitiser should have at least a 60% ethanol content.

Myth: “I’m young and healthy, if I get coronavirus I’ll be fine”

Many young people who get COVID-19 will suffer a flu-like illness and not need hospitalisation but there’s also strong evidence that young healthy people can also get very sick with COVID-19. For example, more than 50% of patients admitted to ICU in France were under 60.

Myth: “If you can hold your breath for ten seconds without coughing, you cannot have COVID-19”

If it were that easy to diagnose coronavirus, the hospital and GP system would be under a whole lot less pressure. Once again, these simple, “too good to be true” claims are exactly that.

Myth: “Antibiotics can treat COVID-19”

Antibiotics have no activity against viruses - they are used exclusively for bacteria. Occasionally, very unwell people with COVID-19 may develop superimposed bacterial infections in hospital, and is this setting antibiotics will be used. But this is to treat the bacterial pneumonia, not the COVID-19 infection. Currently, there are no WHO-recommended medications to treat COVID-19, although reports are coming out of some countries that some antivirals usually used in treatment of hepatitis or HIV may be beneficial.

FACTS

Fact: Ibuprofen should be avoided in patients with COVID-19.

Ibuprofen, sold under brand names such as nurofen or advil, is an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug). It’s used for a variety of inflammatory conditions, and is also sometimes used for fever that is not responding to paracetamol. However, a paper was published on March 11 in the Lancet linking increased ACE2 levels (an enzyme that coronaviruses use to bind to target cells) with COVID-19 infection. This is relevant because ibuprofen can increase levels of ACE2, at least in rats. More research is needed in this area, but for now the WHO has recommended avoiding ibuprofenin COVID-19, and instead using paracetamol. This also implies that theremay be an argument for withholding ACE-Inhibitors (a common blood pressure medication) but the European Society of Cardiology recommends that they are continued.

Fact: Healthcare workers on the front line are doing their absolute best in a very difficult time.

Many of my best friends are working on the front lines as junior doctors, GPs, emergency or medical registrars, nurses, pharmacists and other allied health professions. They are doing their best, but the situation is constantly evolving, and guidelines continue to do change. As such, they may not test you for COVID-19 when you are expecting a test, or otherwise treat you in some way that differs from your expectations. Rest assured that they are working very hard to keep up to date, and to behave in a manner that prioritises not only your health, but also public health and the best possible allocation of resources. Please be patient and honest with, and kind to, them in these challenging times. Speaking as one of them, we really do care about you.

Fact: Panic buying deprives vulnerable people of vital necessities, and is completely unnecessary.

I’ve touched on this earlier, but please do not hoard groceries. Many elderly or people with disabilities do not have the luxury or option of visiting multiple stores, so if they go to a supermarket that has had its shelves cleared out, they have no backup option and may be forced to go without. If everyone were to return to how they shopped a month ago, everyone would have enough food!! The supermarkets never run out of pasta or toilet paper normally, and they will stop running out if people just shop normally. The supermarkets are not going to close, there is no need to hoard food.

Fact: We still have a lot of control over what happens over the next few weeks.

Here, we must learn from the examples of other countries. If we continue to treat COVID-19 with the same cavalier attitude, continuing to attend large events, public places like gyms, churches etc, we will follow in the footsteps of Italy, which now has over 30,000 cases and over 2,500 dead. The death toll there is now climbing by hundreds per day. On the other hand, a combination of widespread closures and shutdown measures, combined with individuals taking responsibility to do their absolute best, will see us closer to countries like Singapore or South Korea, which have dramatically curbed their cases.

Fact: Social distancing will save lives.

Social distancing will dramatically reduce coronavirus spread. This works both because undiagnosed cases of COVID-19 have less opportunity to spread, and because uninfected people have less opportunity to encounter coronavirus as you go about your life. So please take it seriously, even if you are feeling perfectly well. Stay home unless it is absolutely essential that you leave the house. Wash your hands often, with soap and water. Avoid touching your face.

In summary, we need to make informed, evidence-based decisions to combat this pandemic. It poses grave public health risks if not taken seriously, but we can do a lot to mitigate these risks. This needs to be led by Government, but in the absence of decisive leadership there, we must take the lead ourselves. But our response needs to be one that continues to look after the needs of our most vulnerable members of the community.

[newstfionline]

Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Employers, insurers push to make virtual visits regular care (AP) Make telemedicine your first choice for most doctor visits. That’s the message some U.S. employers and insurers are sending with a new wave of care options. Amazon and several insurers have started or expanded virtual-first care plans to get people to use telemedicine routinely, even for planned visits like annual checkups. They’re trying to make it easier for patients to connect with regular help by using remote care that grew explosively during the COVID-19 pandemic. Advocates say this can keep patients healthy and out of expensive hospitals, which makes insurers and employers that pay most of the bill happy. But some doctors worry that it might create an over-reliance on virtual visits. “There is a lot lost when there is no personal touch, at least once in a while,” said Dr. Andrew Carroll, an Arizona-based family doctor and board member of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Landlords and renters both struggling (Washington Post) In the covid economy of 2021, the federal government has created an ongoing grace period for renters until at least July, banning all evictions in an effort to hold back a historic housing crisis that is already underway. More than 8 million rental properties across the country are behind on payments by an average of $5,600, according to census data. Nearly half of those rental properties are owned not by banks or big corporations but instead by what the government classifies as “small landlords”—people who manage their own rentals and depend on them for basic income, and who are now trapped between tenants who can’t pay and their own mounting bills for insurance, mortgages and property tax. According to government estimates, a third of small landlords are at risk of bankruptcy or foreclosure as the pandemic continues into its second year.

Pandemic baby bust unprecedented in Bay Area, California history (San Francisco Chronicle) U.S. residents are having fewer babies this year. And California’s birth rates in January and February—around the time when early pandemic babies would be due—declined by 15% compared to the same period last year, the steepest year-over-year decline for those months since at least 1960, according to a Chronicle analysis. We used data from California’s Health and Human Services department, which collects monthly birth totals per county. We found that the state’s births declined from nearly 70,000 in the first two months of 2020 to fewer than 59,000 in the same period in 2021.

Zoom Court Is Changing How Justice Is Served (The Atlantic) Last spring, as COVID‑19 infections surged for the first time, many American courts curtailed their operations. As case backlogs swelled, courts moved online, at a speed that has amazed—and sometimes alarmed—judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys. In the past year, U.S. courts have conducted millions of hearings, depositions, arraignments, settlement conferences, and even trials—nearly entirely in civil cases or for minor criminal offenses—over Zoom and other meeting platforms. As of late February, Texas, the state that’s moved online most aggressively, had held 1.1 million remote proceedings.

Mexico City metro overpass collapses onto road; 20 dead (AP) An elevated section of the Mexico City metro collapsed and sent a subway car plunging toward a busy boulevard late Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring about 70, city officials said. Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said 49 of the injured were hospitalized, and that seven were in serious condition and undergoing surgery. The overpass was about 5 meters (16 feet) above the road in the southside borough of Tlahuac, but the train ran above a concrete median strip, which apparently lessened the casualties among motorists on the roadway below. “A support beam gave way,” Sheinbaum said, adding that the beam collapsed just as the train passed over it.

El Salvador’s judiciary (Foreign Policy) Lawmakers in El Salvador voted to remove five influential Supreme Court judges and the attorney general over the weekend in a move U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has noted with “grave concern.” The motions to remove the officials passed with a supermajority in El Salvador’s legislature, now ruled by President Nayib Bukele’s New Ideas party following a sweeping victory in February’s elections. Addressing the international community on Twitter Bukele dismissed rebukes over the move. “With all due respect: We are cleaning house … and this doesn’t concern you,” Bukele said.

‘Hospitals are full’ as Argentina COVID-19 cases hit 3 million (Reuters) Argentina coronavirus cases hit 3 million on Sunday since the pandemic began, as medical workers said hospitals were full to capacity despite toughened government measures to bring down the spread of infections. The government of President Alberto Fernandez this week unveiled a new round of tougher restrictions as a second wave of infections has battered the country, filling up intensive care units and setting new daily records for cases and deaths. Marcela Cid, owner of a business on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, said that Argentines were increasingly “locked into a situation” that while necessary, was of little help to anyone trying to move beyond the pandemic.

EU proposes reopening external borders (AP) In an announcement sure to be welcomed by travelers worldwide, EU officials on Monday proposed easing restrictions on visiting the 27-nation bloc as vaccination campaigns across the continent gather speed. Travel to the European Union is currently extremely limited except for a handful of countries with low infection rates. But with the summer tourist season looming, the bloc’s European Commission hopes the new recommendations will dramatically expand that list. The Commission hopes the move will soon allow travelers reunite with their friends and relatives living in Europe and support the bloc’s economy this summer. Under the Commission’s proposal, entry would be granted to all those fully vaccinated with EU-authorized shots. Coronavirus vaccines authorized by the European Medicines Agency, the bloc’s drug regulator, include Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

Indian leader’s party takes electoral hit amid virus surge (AP) India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi suffered a resounding defeat in a key state election on Sunday, indicating his Hindu nationalist party’s political strength may be slipping as the country struggles to contain an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was unable to dislodge West Bengal state’s firebrand chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, after a hard-fought campaign. His party also failed to win in two southern states, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. But the BJP secured a second term in the northeastern state of Assam and an alliance with regional parties led it to victory in the union territory of Puducherry. Even before the current virus surge, Modi’s party faced stiff challenges in these local legislative elections. Following the disappointing results, Modi stands weakened but faces no threats to staying on as prime minister until his term ends in 2024.

Formal Withdrawal from Afghanistan Begins (AP) US and NATO troops stationed in Afghanistan formally began the withdrawal phase over the weekend, a process that is expected to last through the summer and officially end Sept. 11. Roughly 3,000 US troops and 7,000 coalition troops remain in the country, along with a reported 18,000 Pentagon-employed contractors. The exit has been framed as nonconditional—meaning ongoing attacks by the Taliban against the Afghan government won’t delay the withdrawal. Many have questioned the ability of the Afghan National Army to provide security against the Taliban absent international forces. Despite assurances by Afghan officials, Taliban forces have established themselves across most of the country. Afghan forces control an estimated one-third of the country’s districts, with the Taliban controlling about 10%, and nearly half—areas that include a total of roughly 14 million people—currently contested.

Chinese man crosses Taiwan Strait by rubber dinghy, seeking ‘freedom and equality’ (Washington Post) A Chinese man appeared to sail undetected through the highly militarized Taiwan Strait in a rubber dinghy, fleeing his native China for Taiwan in search of “freedom,” according to Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration. The man, identified only by his surname, Zhou, left Shishi county in Quanzhou, a port city in Fujian province, at 10 a.m. on Friday, arriving more than 10 hours later at Taichung port on Taiwan’s western coast, Taiwan’s Coast Guard said on Monday. Officials said they were still investigating Zhou’s journey over the 100-mile stretch of sea between China and Taiwan, which is patrolled by hundreds of Chinese and Taiwanese coast guard ships and naval vessels. Coast Guard officials, relaying Zhou’s account of his journey, told reporters he had traveled in a rubber raft measuring 8.8 feet by 5 feet that he bought on the Chinese e-commerce site Taobao and fitted with an outboard motor. The incident has prompted concerns about the security of the contentious waterway at a time when military observers worry that long-standing tensions between the governments of China, Taiwan and the United States, which is committed to defending Taiwan, could boil over into military conflict.

Australia warns its citizens of jail and $50,000 fine if they return from India (Washington Post) Even in the pandemic era of closed borders, Australia’s latest travel restriction stands out: Anyone, including Australian citizens, who arrives in the country after visiting India in the previous 14 days can face up to five years in jail, a $50,000 fine or both. On Monday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended the move. Australia had seen a sevenfold increase in the percentage of people traveling from India who tested positive for the coronavirus, the prime minister told Sydney’s 2GB radio station. The decision to threaten even Australian citizens with jail time if they return home from India during its record-breaking coronavirus surge is a significant escalation of border restrictions for Australia, an island nation that had already mandated strict controls at its borders throughout the pandemic.

DR Congo declares state of siege over eastern bloodshed (Reuters) Militants killed at least 19 people, including 10 soldiers, in raids on two villages in the east of Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday, hours after President Felix Tshisekedi declared a state of siege in two provinces. A surge in attacks by armed militias and inter-communal violence in the east have killed more than 300 people since the start of the year as government troops and U.N. peacekeepers struggle to stabilize the situation. The most recent attacks took place early on Saturday when militants raided two villages in North Kivu’s regional hub of Beni, local authorities said. Tshisekedi had declared a state of siege in North Kivu and Ituri provinces on Friday.

[militant-holy-knight]

We have been paying dearly for China's lies.

"This is one of the worst cover-ups in human history, and now the world is facing a global pandemic," said Rep. Michael T. McCaul, the ranking Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, before the US intelligence community concluded, in a classified report to the White House, that China has concealed the origin and extent of the catastrophic global coronavirus outbreak.

The Chinese Communist Party's "failure has unleashed a global contagion killing thousands", wrote Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, president of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences, on April 1. "As we survey the damage done to lives around the world, we must ask who is responsible?"

"... there is one government that has primary responsibility for what it has done and what it has failed to do, and that is the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] regime in Beijing. Let me be clear — it is the CCP that has been responsible, not the people of China... Lies and propaganda have put millions of lives around the world in danger... In recent years, we have seen an intense crackdown on freedom of expression in China. Lawyers, bloggers, dissidents and civil society activists have been rounded up and have disappeared."

One more person has just disappeared: Ai Fen, a Chinese physician who was head of the emergency department at Wuhan Central Hospital, had worked with the late Dr. Li Wenliang. Ai, who claimed that her bosses silenced her early warnings about coronavirus, appears to have vanished. Her whereabouts, according to 60 Minutes Australia, are unknown. The journalists who saw what happened inside Wuhan have also disappeared. Caixin Global reported that the laboratories which sequenced the coronavirus in December were ordered by Chinese officials to hand over or destroy the samples and not release their findings. "If I had known what was to happen, I would not have cared about the reprimand, I would have fucking talked about it to whoever, where ever I could", Ai Fen said in an interview in March. Those were her last recorded words.

There is no record at all, however, about how this pandemic began. Wet market? A cave full of bats? Pangolins? Or a bio-weapons laboratory? No foreign doctors, journalists, analysts or international observers are present in Wuhan. Why, if the virus came out of a wet market or a cave, did China suppress inquiries to such an extent? Why, in December, did Beijing order Chinese scientists to destroy proof about the virus? Why did Chinese officials claim that US soldiers brought the virus to Wuhan? Why should it be scandalous that a US President calls a virus that began in China a "Chinese virus"?

Who announced on January 11 that Wuhan's wet market was the origin of this epidemic? The Chinese regime. It was later discovered that the first known case of coronavirus traced back to November 17, 2019.

The same Chinese regime later claimed that this coronavirus "may not have originated in China". What respected scientist or institution can now trust anything that comes out of China?

Many leading scientists have dismissed the claim that the Covid-19 virus was an engineered pathogen. This conclusion was seemingly based on the fact that Wuhan has two major virus research labs: the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which is apparently less than a mile from the market, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory, handling the world's most deadly pathogens, located just seven miles from the market. The story was immediately and emphatically trashed as a "conspiracy theory".

Those scientists claim that the virus likely originated among wildlife before spreading to humans, possibly through a food market in Wuhan. They say that, through genetic sequencing, they have identified the culprit for Covid-19 as a bat coronavirus. End of story? Science, thankfully, begins by asking questions and then seeking answers.

Bats were not, it seems, sold at Wuhan's wet market. The Lancet noted in a January study that the first Covid-19 case in Wuhan had no connection to the market. The Lancet's paper, written by Chinese researchers from several institutions, detailed that 13 of the 41 first cases had no link to the market. "That's a big number, 13, with no link," commented Daniel Lucey, an infectious disease specialist at Georgetown University. So how did the epidemic start?

"Now it seems clear that [the] seafood market is not the only origin of the virus, but to be honest we still do not know where the virus came from now", notes Bin Cao, pulmonary specialist at Capital Medical University, and the corresponding author of the Lancet article.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that China's Communist Party is withholding information about the coronavirus.

If we do not know, it is necessary be open to all possibilities.

"Less than 300 yards from the seafood market is the Wuhan branch of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention" wrote David Ignatius of the Washington Post.

"Researchers from that facility and the nearby Wuhan Institute of Virology have posted articles about collecting bat coronaviruses from around China, for study to prevent future illness. Did one of those samples leak, or was hazardous waste deposited in a place where it could spread?".

"Collecting viruses" presumably does not exclude the possibility of a "leaked virus". Worse, if China is not able to protect its laboratories, it needs to be held accountable and made to pay for the devastating global damage.

"Experts know the new coronavirus is not a bioweapon. They disagree on whether it could have leaked from a research lab", stated The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Professor Richard Ebright of Rutgers University's Waksman Institute of Microbiology, and a major biosecurity expert, agreed with the Nature Medicine authors' argument that the coronavirus was not manipulated by humans. But Ebright does think it possible that the Covid-19 started as an accidental leak from a laboratory, such as one of the two in Wuhan, which are known to have been studying bat viruses:

"Virus collection or animal infection with a virus having the transmission characteristics of the outbreak virus would pose substantial risk of infection of a lab worker, and from the lab worker, the public."

Ebright has also claimed that bat coronaviruses are studied in Wuhan at Biosafety Level 2, "which provides only minimal protection" compared with the top BSL-4.

"We don't know what happened, but there are a lot of reasons to believe that this indeed was a release of some sort", China expert Gordon Chang said to Die Weltwoche.

"No one has been able to study it. How can you say it's not a release from a lab if you can't go to the lab? Indeed, we have seen Beijing do its best to prevent virologists and epidemiologists from actually going to Wuhan. The World Health Organization team went to Wuhan for like half a day with only part of the team."

That is another major problem. The potential major investigator of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic's origin, the World Health Organization (WHO), is now accused of being "China's coronavirus' accomplice". As late as January 14, the WHO quoted Chinese health officials claiming there had been no human transmissions of the coronavirus within the country yet.

China poses a biosecurity risks for the entire planet. One year before the first coronavirus case was identified in Wuhan, US Customs and Border Protection agents at Detroit Metro Airport stopped a Chinese biologist with three vials labeled "Antibodies" in his luggage. According to an unclassified FBI tactical intelligence report obtained by Yahoo News:

"Inspection of the writing on the vials and the stated recipient led inspection personnel to believe the materials contained within the vials may be viable Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) materials."

Why is China trafficking in dangerous viruses in the first place?

According to Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations:

"A safety breach at a Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention lab is believed to have caused four suspected SARS cases, including one death, in Beijing in 2004. A similar accident caused 65 lab workers of Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute to be infected with brucellosis in December 2019. In January 2020, a renowned Chinese scientist, Li Ning, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for selling experimental animals to local markets".

In February, Botao Xiao and Lei Xiao, from Guangzhou's South China University of Technology, wrote in a research paper:

"In addition to origins of natural recombination and intermediate host the killer coronavirus probably originated from a laboratory in Wuhan. Safety level [sic] may need to be reinforced in high risk biohazardous laboratories".

Xiao later told the Wall Street Journal that he had withdrawn the paper because it "was not supported by direct proofs".

Chinese laboratory mistakes have happened before. By 2010, researchers published as fact: "The most famous case of a released laboratory strain is the re-emergent H1N1 influenza-A virus which was first observed in China in May of 1977 and in Russia shortly thereafter". The virus may have escaped from a lab attempting to prepare a vaccine in response to the U.S. swine flu pandemic alert.

In 1999 the most senior defector in the US from the Soviet biological warfare program, Ken Alibek, revealed that Soviet officials concluded that China had suffered a serious accident at one of its secret biological plants, causing two major epidemics of fever that had swept China in the late 1980s. "Our analysts", Alibek stated in his book, Biohazard, "concluded that they were caused by an accident in a lab where Chinese scientists were weaponizing viral diseases".

In 2004, the World Health Organization disclosed that the latest outbreak of "severe acute respiratory syndrome" (SARS) in China involved two researchers who were working with the virus in a Beijing research lab. The WHO denounced Chinese breaches of safety procedures, and director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Li Liming, resigned. Science magazine also stated that "for the third time in less than a year, an outbreak of SARS seems to have originated from a failure in laboratory containment".

Moreover, three years ago, when China opened the laboratory in Wuhan, Tim Trevan, a Maryland biosafety specialist, told Nature that he worried about the safety of the building because "structures where everyone feels free to speak up and openness of information are important." Free speech and open information: exactly what Chinese regime fought against in December and January.

A Chinese video about a key researcher in Wuhan, Tian Junhua, which was released a few weeks before the outbreak in Wuhan, shows Chinese researchers handling bats that contained viruses. In the video (produced by China Science Communication, run by the China Association for Science and Technology), Tian says:

"I am not a doctor, but I work to cure and save people... I am not a soldier, but I work to safeguard an invisible national defense line".

Tian is also reported as having said:

"I can feel the fear: the fear of infections and the fear of getting lost. Because of the fear, I take every step extremely cautiously. The more scared I feel, the more care I take in executing every detail. Because the process of you finding the viruses is also when you can be exposed to them the easiest. I do hope these virus samples will only be preserved for scientific research and will never be used in real life".

For a month, the Chinese Communist Party, instead of fighting the contagion, did everything possible to censor all information about the Covid-19 outbreak. After President Xi Jinping declared "a people's war" on the epidemic on January 20, Chinese security services pursued 5,111 cases of "fabricating and deliberately disseminating false and harmful information". The Chinese Human Rights Defenders documented several types of punishment, including detention, disappearance, fines, interrogations, forced confessions and "educational reprimand".

After that, China lied about the real number of deaths. There are photographs of long lines of stacked urns greeting family members of the dead at funeral homes in Wuhan. Outside one funeral home, trucks shipped in 2,500 urns. According to Chinese official figures, 2,548 people in Wuhan have died of the Covid-19. According to an analysis by Radio Free Asia, seven funeral homes in Wuhan were each handing out 500 funeral urns containing remains for 12 days, from March 23 to the traditional tomb-sweeping festival of April 5, a time that would indicate up to 42,000 urns, or ten times higher than the official figure.

In February, it was reported that Wuhan crematoriums were working around the clock to cope with the massive influx of infected bodies. Wuhan's officials are apparently pushing relatives of the victims to bury the dead "quickly and quietly".

"Natural virus" does not exclude its fallout from a laboratory where pathogens are collected and studied. The Nature Medicine authors "leave us where we were before: with a basis to rule out [a coronavirus from] a lab construct, but no basis to rule out a lab accident", Professor Ebright commented.

"Debate may rage over which center it is, but at this point it seems undeniable that a center has been directly involved with research on viruses, although not necessarily on the creation of a virus" wrote Father Renzo Milanese, a longtime Catholic missionary in Hong Kong.

"In other words, the virus passed from a research center in Wuhan early on. More importantly there is also no question that the authorities were aware of the dangerousness of the virus, that they did not inform anyone and that they tried to keep the facts hidden".

US Senator Josh Hawley has introduced a resolution calling for an international investigation into China's handling of the spread of the virus. According to Hawley:

"The Chinese Communist Party was aware of the reality of the virus as early as December but ordered laboratories to destroy samples and forced doctors to keep silent. It is time for an international investigation into the role their cover-up played in the spread of this devastating pandemic".

Admitting a fault, as the Japanese did after the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, might be one way for a country to be accepted again by the international community. Censoring, denying and covering up, as China is doing, will not.

"China claims that the deadly virus did not escape from its biolab," said a China specialist with the Population Research Institute, Steven W. Mosher. "Fine. Prove it by releasing the research records of the Wuhan lab".

[ayurvedainitiative-blog]

Unite to Fight Corona

Unite to Fight Corona : Prime Minister of India launches public movement against COVID-19,CoronaVirus,

“Wear a mask. Wash hands. Follow social distancing. Practice ‘Do Gaj Ki Doori.�� Yes, the Prime Minister Of India has reminded the nation to follow the COVID-19 appropriate behaviours, as he launched a public movement to unite in the fight against the pandemic. The campaign has been launched with the aim to encourage people’s participation and together win the fight against COVID-19.We like  to be part of this nationwide  Campaign.

Ayurveda Awareness Campaign On Immunity through Ayurveda 2020 In

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Ayurveda Initiative for Global Health,

We Belong to Ayurvedic Immunity boosting 

natural medicine and pure Herbs like

Shakti Drops, Amruth Tablets, Turmeric 

Plus Tablets, Organic Tulasi Arka, Kabasura Kudineer Tablets, Amla Tablets, Tulasi Tablets, Ashwagandha Tablets, Anu Taila , Yeshtimadhu Tablets, Ayush Kwath of  Sri Sri Tattva,

Welcome : Unite to fight Corona ,

For

Ayurveda initiative for global health. 

Ayurveda,Doctor,Treatment,Medicine,Pure Herbs,

[rayarmat]

From Pittsburgh to Moscow and Sydney: New Cautionary Notes on COVID-19 Vaccines

1) University Of Pittsburgh Medical Center is excited but will NOT Require Staff To Take COVID-19 Vaccine: "UPMC will conduct its own review of the vaccines before injecting any of its employees. It’s not the right thing to make it mandatory."

2) Recipients of Russia’s Sputnik V Coronavirus vaccine should abstain from alcohol for nearly two months before and after immunization, the head of Russia’s consumer safety watchdog said Tuesday.

3) In Australia, The secretary of the federal health department, Dr. Brendan Murphy said the CSL/UQ COVID-19 vaccine, while “likely to be a promising vaccine” triggers (false) HIV positives in vaccinated people. The government has reportedly cancelled its order for 51 million doses of the UQ/CSL vaccine.

4) In the U.S., A CDC scientist told a House committee that she was ordered to destroy an email regarding attempts by political appointees to interfere with the publication of weekly CDC reports.

5) Six people have died during trials of the Pfizer Coronavirus vaccine, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Wednesday.

6) According to FDA, Adverse events potentially related to the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine include lymphadenopathy, or abnormal-sized lymph nodes (Immune system glands that usually enlarge in response to a bacterial or viral infection, but sudden swelling of many lymph nodes may indicate cancer) and Bell's palsy (weakness or paralysis of the muscles in the face, which can occur when the nerve that controls your facial muscles becomes inflamed, swollen, or compressed).

7) The UK drug regulator has issued a warning for people with a 'significant' history of allergic reactions to medicines, food or vaccines to not have the Pfizer/BioNTech jab.

8) In Europe, any active pharmaceutical ingredient, which contains or consists of a recombinant nucleic acid, used in or administered to human beings, falls under the scope of the regulation for advanced therapy medicinal products. Therefore, mRNA-based therapeutics and vaccines are categorized in Europe as gene therapy even though the manufacturers insist there are only cytoplasmic modifications and transcriptions. 

[nickylovesrefugees]

How to limit the spread of coronavirus, prevent our health system being overwhelmed and save lives

For those who read my first post, good news - I have been cleared of COVID-19. For those that haven’t, I’m writing this as a medical doctor with an interest in infectious diseases and international public health. I was meant to be flying to NZ today for a hiking holiday, but I’ve had to cancel that due to NZ’s strict new COVID-19 border security measures. As such, once again I find myself with unexpected free time, and I thought the most productive thing I could do with this is write again about coronavirus.

Over the last few days, it has become apparent that Australia is likely to be hit hard, and soon, by COVID-19. However, we can still control whether or not this outbreak overwhelms our health systems or not. You may have heard mention of a concept called “flattening the curve” which is absolutely essential to save lives. The underlying principle is that our health system only has a limited volume of COVID-19 cases that we can deal with safely, and we must do everything to not exceed this capacity. This is important for two reasons. If we exceed this capacity, we will have more COVID-19 cases than we can safely treat, leading to inadequate treatment not only of people with COVID-19, but the myriad other conditions - heart attacks, strokes, gastrointestinal bleeds - that our hospitals are still going to be dealing with on a daily basis.

How do we flatten the curve? One of the most important variables in the spread of coronavirus is the number of people that each infected person then goes on to infect - this number is known as R0. A study by the Lancet used computer modelling to compare simulated outbreaks for a range of R0s, and showed a tremendous difference in the likelihood of outbreak control between R0s of 1.5 and 3.5. This makes logical sense - the less others that each infected person spreads COVID-19 to, the less cases are going to be overwhelming our health system.

So finally, how do we reduce R0? Social distancing is key. For all the introverts out there, you’re ready for this. As it is likely that at least in some cases, people appear to be infecting others BEFORE their own symptoms develop, we must be very proactive in preventing transmission. We cannot wait for the development of symptoms before isolating, as this may be too late. As such, by far the safest thing we can do is drastically reducing our contact with other people.

Avoid leaving the house for anything that isn’t essential, especially anything with large crowds or confined spaces - think concerts, sporting events, community gatherings

Work from home if you can

Avoid physically attending school or university if possible

When you do have to leave the house, keep a safe distance from other people - imagine the concept of “personal space” to have now expanded to 1.5 m

Avoid any physical contact - handshakes, hugging, kissing etc

Wash your hands regularly with soap or hand sanitiser

Avoid touching your face

For those of you who are young and healthy, and aren’t worried about getting COVID-19 - I ask you to consider your parents and grandparents. If you were to contract COVID-19, you may not know it as you may still feel well. But you could very easily pass it on to your parents or grandparents, who would be far more likely to become very ill or die - do you want to live with this on your conscience? Furthermore, there are people in the community with compromised immune systems who will be at very high risk. We need to act proactively, collectively and responsibly to contain the spread of coronavirus. We can flatten the curve, but only by working together.

[sciencenewsforstudents]

The arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere has raised hopes that warmer and wetter weather might slow or even stop the COVID-19 pandemic, at least until fall. But don’t plan on that happening, U.S. health experts say.

“One should not assume that we are going to be rescued by a change in the weather. You must assume that the virus will continue to do its thing,” Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Md., and a member of the White House coronavirus task force, said during an interview April 9 on ABC’s Good Morning America.

A report released April 7 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine also says that, while much about the virus remains unknown, summer temperatures probably won’t do much to dampen the spread of the virus.

While scientists still don’t know if touching shared surfaces is a major driver of the pandemic, compared with direct person-to-person transmission (SN: 3/4/20; SN: 4/2/20), understanding how the virus fares in different environmental conditions could provide clues as to the likelihood of a summertime slowdown. Many viruses wither under high temperatures and there is some evidence that the same might be true for SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

In an experiment using SARS-CoV-2 in a lab solution, increasing temperature decreased the amount of viable virus that could be detected, according to an April 2 study in the Lancet Microbe. No infectious virus remained after 30 minutes at 56° Celsius (133° Fahrenheit). And just five minutes at 70° C was enough to inactivate the pathogen.

But these temperature highs are rare, if not impossible, in the lower atmosphere. The National Academies’ report — aimed at updating the White House on how changing seasons might affect the pandemic — instead points to other, ongoing studies at national laboratories that could soon inform how the virus fares under a wider range of conditions.

Perhaps more relevant are studies looking for correlations between COVID-19 cases and local weather. If warmer, wetter places tend to have smaller outbreaks, then much of the Northern Hemisphere could be in for a break.

One early study of the outbreak, posted March 30 at medRxiv.org, suggested that for every 1 degree C increase in atmospheric temperature at relatively high levels of humidity, daily confirmed cases decreased by 36 to 57 percent in China’s Hubei Province. That pattern did not hold across mainland China, though.

Another study, released March 19 and later updated on the preprint repository SSRN, found that 90 percent of global transmission through March 22 occurred when temperatures were between 3° and 17° C. However that study, by a computational neuroscientist and environmental engineer at MIT, did not account for variables such as countries’ testing capacities or policy responses, says Maceij Boni, a Penn State epidemiologist. As a result, Boni doesn’t put much stock in the study’s conclusions.

See all our coverage of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak

“An epidemic is a dynamic process,” so research into a virus’s transmission ability needs to consider the many possible factors that might influence the results, Boni says.

The National Academies’ report notes that “studies published so far have conflicting results regarding potential seasonal effects, and are hampered by poor data quality, confounding factors and insufficient time since the beginning of the pandemic from which to draw conclusions.”

Because humanity has never before encountered this new coronavirus, the vast majority of the population is highly susceptible to infection (SN: 3/24/20). That widespread vulnerability will likely overwhelm any temperature effect on transmission rates, according to a study that modeled the effect of varying levels of seasonality on transmission, posted at medRxiv.org April 7.

That conclusion matches what countries like Australia and Brazil have experienced, with large outbreaks during their summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

[atlanticcanada]

Drug shortages could 'imperil the lives' of Canadians, doctors warn Ottawa

A group of some of Canada's leading doctors and pharmacists have issued an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, urging the federal government to address shortages for critical drugs such as Azithromycin, Lorazepam and Remdesivir that could "imperil the lives" of Canadians amid the COVID-19 pandemic

The Critical Drugs Coalition issued the letter on Thursday, asking the government to bring attention and resources to Canada's drug supply challenges. These challenges have existed for the past decade but doctors say they have been "greatly exacerbated" due to the novel coronavirus.

"We simply cannot afford to jeopardize the lives and wellbeing of our patients due to an inadequate supply of critical drugs," the letter reads.

Some of the drugs currently in shortage include forms of Azithromycin, Ceftriaxone, Dexamethasone, Lorazepam, Midazolam, Propofol, Remdesivir, Salbutamol and Tocilizumab, among others. The letter says that health-care professionals have also seen shortages in antibiotic drugs, some of which are on the Tier 3 list, including Penicillin G.

According to the letter, 24 out of 32 drugs on Health Canada's Tier 3 shortage list are essential for treating COVID-19. Medications on the Tier 3 list are drugs experiencing an active significant shortage and have no suitable alternatives.

Newsletter sign-up: Get The COVID-19 Brief sent to your inbox

With these critical drugs typically prescribed for various condition such as epilepsy, high blood pressure, pain, and asthma, many pharmacies across the country have been limiting patients to one month's worth of medication at a time to discourage people from stockpiling medication amid the uncertainties around the pandemic.

CTV News previously reported that doctors are also experimenting with different treatments using existing medications to help hospitalized COVID-19 patients, which in some cases, have led to misinformed members of the public stockpiling the medicine and causing shortages for patients suffering from other serious diseases requiring the drugs.

"As frontline pharmacists and physicians, we have seen and heard of serious shortages of essential, critical medications. These drugs are often used simultaneously in ORs, ERs and palliative care wards, as well as ICUs," the letter reads.

While Canada’s ICUs are seeing fewer COVID-19 patients, the Critical Drugs Coalition says the pandemic has placed a burden on their drug supply with patients often requiring weeks of treatment on ventilators.

Deputy Minister of Health Canada Stephen Lucas said in April that the COVID-19 pandemic will likely lead to shortages of drugs and medical devices for Canadians.

Lucas said the federal government has a team dedicated to addressing the problem and is working with regulators in the U.S., Australia and Europe to identify where the supply-chain disruptions are occurring.

The federal government has also issued an interim order to allow certain international drugs that may not fully meet regulatory requirements to be imported and sold in Canada to help address drug shortages. However, pharmacists and physicians say they’re still facing shortages.

CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION

Health experts behind the letter worry that a likely second wave of infections in Canada will further increase drug shortages and put Canadians lives at risk by compromising the optimal care for their health unless certain measure are put in place.

While the letter is addressed to Trudeau, the Critical Drugs Coalition is calling for immediate action by all levels governments including provincial, territorial, and municipal with national support. The letter said Canada will "perpetually face drug shortages" unless concrete action is taken.

The Critical Drugs Coalition is a grassroots, volunteer-run coalition of physicians, pharmacists and others concerned by drug shortages amid the pandemic. The coalition recommends that Canada find a long-term solution to the problem, starting with the robust stockpiling of critical medications.

"Many of the critical care drugs should be part of the National Strategic Emergency Stockpile. However, it is clear that Canada simply did not have enough stockpiled to meet the demand during the COVID-19 pandemic and that there has been under allocation and underspending for the emergency stockpile," according to the letter.

Some of Canada’s national medical bodies including the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) have also signed the letter.

In order for the stockpiling strategy to be effective, the letter says governments must work closely with hospitals across Canada to establish a comprehensive list of essential medications for hospital-based care. Additionally, it suggests governments develop a plan to obtain medications in a co-ordinated manner to prevent unintended competition.

The letter is also calling for a publicly owned or supported critical drugs manufacturer as a safeguard against future drug shortages.

China and India supply some 80 per cent of the active ingredients and raw materials for many of the medications, and while some drugs are assembled in Canada, none are completely manufactured here from start to finish.

The letter explained that this national manufacturer would specialize in creating the critical drugs on the Critical Medications List, and "would be primarily involved in satisfying significant portions" of national medication demands.

Going forward, the letter is urging greater transparency and communication from governments to the health sector and the public on the supply of critical medicines to ensure drug supply issues are addressed before they pose any serious risks to sick patients.

"We encourage our government to give this urgent issue attention and efforts now, so that Canadians can have the confidence that their healthcare system will be there when they most need it," the letter said.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/3fNVoYM

[newstfionline]

Headlines

SpaceX capsule and NASA crew make 1st splashdown in 45 years (AP) Two NASA astronauts returned to Earth on Sunday in a dramatic, retro-style splashdown, their capsule parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico to close out an unprecedented test flight by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company. It was the first splashdown by U.S. astronauts in 45 years, with the first commercially built and operated spacecraft to carry people to and from orbit. The return clears the way for another SpaceX crew launch as early as next month and possible tourist flights next year. Test pilots Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken rode the SpaceX Dragon capsule back to Earth less than a day after departing the International Space Station and two months after blasting off from Florida. The capsule parachuted into the calm gulf waters about 40 miles off the coast of Pensacola, hundreds of miles from Tropical Storm Isaias pounding Florida’s Atlantic coast. “Welcome back to planet Earth and thanks for flying SpaceX,” said Mission Control from SpaceX headquarters. More than an hour after splashdown, the astronauts emerged from their capsule on the deck of a recovery ship, both signaling a thumbs-up as they headed for medical exams.

Students return to campus (AP) The first wave of college students returning to their dorms aren’t finding the typical mobs of students and parents. What they found Friday were strict safety protocols and some heightened anxiety amid a global pandemic where virus infections are growing in dozens of states. North Carolina State University staggered the return of its students over 10 days and welcomed the first 900 students to campus, where they were greeted Friday by socially distant volunteers donning masks and face shields. Elon University in North Carolina, mailed testing kits to all 7,000 students ahead of their arrival in a few weeks. Maine’s Colby College will be testing students before they arrive and then three times a week for the first two weeks on campus. They’ll be tested twice a week after that, until the semester ends. The University of Rhode Island is scaling back campus housing to abide by distancing requirements, causing a scramble for some students. “Just like the rest of the world, we have to figure out how to carry on,” said Betsy Flanagan, who was sending her freshman son, Arch, off to college. “This virus isn’t going away and it’s going to be with us for quite a while, so we all have to figure out how to safely exist and that includes continuing to educate our future.”

Face masks are thwarting even the best facial recognition algorithms, study finds (CNET) It turns out face masks aren’t just effective at preventing the spread of airborne diseases like COVID-19—they’re also successful at blocking facial recognition algorithms, researchers say. In a report published Monday, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology found that face masks were thwarting even the most advanced facial recognition algorithms. Error rates varied from 5% to 50%, depending on an algorithm’s capabilities.

How the pandemic and a broken unemployment system are upending people’s lives (Washington Post) He had five days to move out of the house in Brightwood Park, and now Daniel Vought stood looking at the plastic crates stacked in the living room holding his things. T-shirts. Power cords. Pokémon cards and stuffed animals. His beloved guitar—a Gibson Explorer electric—still hung on the wall. He figured it would be safer staying behind. A new housemate was coming, one who could actually pay $800 a month for the room Vought, 30, had lived in rent-free since the coronavirus pandemic shut down the Georgetown bar where he worked. For four months, his unemployment benefits application had been snared in red tape at the D.C. Department of Employment Services, a black hole of unanswered emails, phone holds and automated voice messages offering delays instead of answers. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people in the nation’s capital have been sucked down the same confusing abyss. Through July 29, the employment office has fielded more than 133,000 claims, nearly five times the number processed in all of 2019. In the meantime, the end of July meant the end of the initial round of federal emergency pandemic assistance. Republicans and Democrats in Congress are deadlocked over the scope of a second wave of federal help. No matter what that future assistance looks like, for people like Vought, still waiting for benefits from the spring and living without a financial cushion, the damage has been done. People pushed into poverty by the coronavirus pandemic could face years of increased dependence on government help, experts say, and greater housing insecurity and homelessness. A single mother with another baby due this summer found herself choosing between buying food or paying the rent. A former D.C. police officer spent months on a relative’s sofa, unable to find work or collect unemployment so he could find his own housing.

Coronavirus pandemic causes another health concern—closed public restrooms (Washington Post) When courier Brent Williams makes his daily deliveries around the city here, he runs into one persistent problem: There’s almost nowhere to use the restroom. Most public buildings are closed under the pandemic, and restaurants and coffee shops that have shifted to carryout service won’t let him use their facilities. “It’s hard to find any place where I can use the restroom,” said Williams, speaking outside a ­library in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood that has reopened its ­restrooms to the public. The library is one of five citywide to have opened their doors, and other parts of the city have almost no options for those who need to relieve themselves or wash their hands. The lack of restrooms has become an issue for delivery workers, taxi and ride-hailing drivers and others who make their living outside of a fixed office building. For the city’s homeless, it’s part of an ongoing problem that preceded covid-19. “It’s gone from bad to worse,” said Eric, who lives in an encampment near Interstate 5. (Eric asked to be identified by only his first name.) “It’s definitely much, much harder.”

A weakened Tropical Storm Isaias lashes virus-hit Florida (AP) Bands of heavy rain from Isaias lashed Florida’s east coast Sunday while officials dealing with surging cases of the coronavirus kept a close watch on the weakened tropical storm. Isaias was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm Saturday afternoon, but was still threatening to bring heavy rain and flooding as it crawled just off Florida’s Atlantic coast. Upper-level winds took much of the strength out of Isaias, said Stacy Stewart, senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The storm also slowed down considerably.Authorities closed beaches, parks and virus testing sites, lashing signs to palm trees so they wouldn’t blow away. DeSantis said the state is anticipating power outages and asked residents to have a week’s supply of water, food and medicine on hand. Officials wrestled with how to prepare shelters where people can seek refuge from the storm if necessary, while also safely social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus.

Latin America coronavirus death toll surges past 200,000 (Reuters) The death toll in Latin America from the novel coronavirus passed 200,000 on Saturday night, a Reuters tally showed, underlining the region’s status as one of the global epicenters of the pandemic that is testing governments to the limit. Apart from the United States, Brazil and Mexico have racked up more fatalities from the virus than any other country, and together they account for around 70% of the regional death toll. Both have struggled to balance the need to curb the spread of the virus with restrictive safety measures while trying to reopen their economies, which have been battered by the crisis. Other countries in Latin America are also battling to hold the coronavirus at bay, and the region breached the 200,000 mark after Peru registered another 191 fatalities.

Indian police crackdown on illegal liquor suppliers after 86 die (Reuters) Indian police raided rural hamlets and made arrests to break up a bootlegging cartel on Sunday, after 86 people died from consuming illegally-produced alcohol this week in the northwestern state of Punjab, officials said.

Victoria state declares disaster, night curfew (AP) The premier of Australia’s hard-hit Victoria state has declared a disaster among sweeping new coronavirus restrictions across Melbourne and elsewhere from Sunday night. An evening curfew will be implemented across Melbourne from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Premier Daniel Andrews says the state of disaster proclamation gave police greater power. He says 671 new coronavirus cases had been detected since Saturday, including seven deaths. It comes among a steadily increasing toll in both deaths and infections over the past six weeks in Victoria. Melbourne residents will only be allowed to shop and exercise within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of their homes. All students across the state will return to home-based learning and child care centers will be closed.

Israel’s Netanyahu rails at media over protests against him (AP) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday railed at swelling protests against his rule, saying they were egged on by a biased media that distorts facts and cheers on the demonstrators. Netanyahu has faced a wave of protests in recent weeks, with demonstrators calling for the resignation of the long-serving leader, who is on trial for corruption charges. They’ve also panned his handling of the coronavirus crisis. Netanyahu has painted the protests as dens of “anarchists” and “leftists” out to topple “a strong right-wing leader.” The protests have largely been peaceful. In some cases they have ended with clashes between demonstrators and police. In others, small gangs of Netanyahu supporters and individuals affiliated with far-right groups have assaulted demonstrators.

[tabloidtoc]

National Examiner, July 13

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: John F. Kennedy Jr.’s Last Day Alive

Page 2: A look back at Beach Party with Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon 

Page 4: Summer fashion champs 

Page 6: The kids in South Elgin, Illinois are devastated that they can’t play Little League games during the coronavirus lockdown so one boy has decided to do something about it -- he’s asking the late baseball legend Babe Ruth for help 

Page 7: Your fate is written in your fingernails, the skinny on apples is the peel holds health benefits 

Page 8: Put twist ties to lots of other uses 

Page 9: Financial help for the asking in COVID crisis 

Page 10: Astronomers at the University of Nottingham have used sophisticated methods to calculate there could be dozens of intelligent alien races living on other planets in the Milky Way right now 

Page 11: Make your home heart healthy 

Page 12: George Clooney’s million-dollar thanks to 14 pals -- surprise suitcases of cash for standing by him in hard times 

Page 14: Dear Tony -- Could there be a small silver lining to COVID-19? Tony predicts Kim Kardashian will be doing wonderful things with her law degree and changing lives for people who should not be in prison 

Page 15: Herman Munster’s words of wisdom about bullying are still ringing true 

Page 16: Stars’ Freakiest Beauty Secrets -- Nicole Kidman, Teri Hatcher, Halle Berry

Page 17: Kim Kardashian, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Gwyneth Paltrow

Page 18: A new hobby can save you from the deep downs of depression

Page 19: Twin two-year-old girls are safe today and owe their lives to a hero cop who climbed 30 feet down a sheer rock face to rescue them after their father drove them off a San Diego cliff into the waters below 

Page 20: Cover Story -- 21 years after plane crash JFK Jr.’s last day alive -- the heir to Camelot devoted final hours to work and family and planning for the future 

Page 22: A Good Samaritan in Michigan climbed down into a smelly sewer to rescue baby ducklings 

Page 24: A dad who knows it’s important to support start-up businesses wrote a review for a new restaurant in town -- a toy kitchen run by his 15-month-old daughter 

Page 25: Gorgeous superstar Reese Witherspoon has finally shared one of her yummiest breakfast secrets for everyone to enjoy 

Page 26: The Good Doctor -- your medicine chest can make you sick 

Page 27: Fire departments around the country are encouraging citizens to keep their bedroom doors closed while they’re sleeping 

Page 30: Alan Alda interviewed Betty White on his podcast show and got some shocking answers -- she tells him all about fears, movie star crush and being a dirty old broad 

Page 31: Matthew McConaughey says he keeps his dad alive in his heart by talking to him, Goldie Hawn in quarantine

Page 32: Teri Hatcher once traveled on a plane to England with a monster bag of flour in her suitcase and sweated the whole way because she was worried officials would mistake it for drugs, Bindi Irwin announces they’re officially filming season 3 of the Animal Planet show Crikey! It’s the Irwins and the family’s Australia Zoo recently opened to the public again after being closed during the coronavirus crisis, Julia Roberts has purchased an $8.3 million estate in San Francisco’s Presidio Heights neighborhood to escape the fast pace and glitz of Los Angeles 

Page 35: Summer storms can be terrifying because they’re so sudden and sometimes deadly

Page 38: True Crime 

Page 40: Couples’ psychic connections, Forrest Fenn wants the world to know his spectacular treasure hunt was not a wild goose chase -- Fenn announced an anonymous explorer had found the pricey stash but he wouldn’t say who the searcher was or release any pictures of the discovery and he was accused of setting up a colossal hoax 

Page 44: Eyes on the Stars -- Kate Middleton and Prince William and their three kids (pictures), Tom Brady in his Tampa Bay Buccaneers uniform (picture), Drew Barrymore credits her dad John Barrymore with making her who she is today, Dolly Parton says she is releasing a behind-the-scenes book, Raven-Symone married Miranda Pearman-Maday in an intimate backyard ceremony

Page 45: Shia LaBeouf works out in Pasadena with his mom Shayna Saide by his side (picture), Heather Locklear in engaged to high school sweetheart Chris Heisser, D.L. Hughley collapsed during his stand-up act in Nashville and tested positive for COVID-19, Rosario Dawson is moving to the East Coast to be closer to boyfriend New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker after the craziness of the coronavirus pandemic kept them apart for months, Pink revealed her marriage to Carey Hart wouldn’t have lasted if they didn’t seek the help of a therapist, Rod Stewart’s life to get the musical biopic treatment 

Page 46: Dr. Kathy Sullivan is the most adventurous woman in the world -- she’s been to outer space and the deepest point on the ocean floor 

Page 47: Having a spectacular summer and why we love it

[covid19blr-blog]

New wave of COVID-19: How the world will deal it?

The second wave COVID19 varies from the first, but it will not be handled the same way. The novel and brand-new coronavirus outbreak overwhelmed the global economy and health care. The phenomena behind it of getting perilous and overwhelmed is its novelty and little-understanding.

The second wave of COVID-19 is skeptical but the progress in discovering the treatment makes it less vulnerable. It was unprecedented for the world health care system to be prepared for such contagion. However, the precautions and various policies followed by the systems in the countries did work out to handle the situation though it caused near to half a million deaths around the world with most cases and deaths in the United States of America.

Doctors say there is now an ease onwards in helping the infected people getting recovered and send to their homes earlier from the hospitals.

Even though there is still no cure but an old life-saving steroid proved for working to some extent in dealing with the COVID-19 known as “Dexamethasone.” Scientists call it “major breakthrough” in curing the infected patients of Covid-19. It is a cheap steroid available in the market as the first life-saving treatment for corona-virus patients, although it is available in each pharmacy in massive amounts and is now responsible for the recovery of one of out eight acute patients.

According to a professor at University College London, coronavirus causes inflammation in the lungs that leads to death, and Dexamethasone reduces inflammation, says Mervyn Singer. The trials and results of the steroids delighted the professor, as it is one the most effective medicines can now be used for treating the infected patients.

Now it seems more manageable for the clinical staff to treat the onwards patients. They will feel less anxious about their recovery after the results of the fantastic trials. Those who were once on ventilators counting their breath to end are now out of the panic. Dexamethasone trials and progress in inventing vaccines awakes hope around the world, getting better in dealing with the situation.

Singer further says, “Now we are confident enough to deal with and will be less superstitious about the risk of the pandemic. We wear PPE, but the people looking after the patients in intensive care have had a low level of infection – no different from the man in the street – which I think is important because there was much fear”.

The second wave of the virus will be the result of re-opening the global economy as many of the countries such as Pakistan, the UK, Australia, China, Italy, France, and South Korea are already settled to re-open their economy. A threat takes birth with re-opening the economy can re-spike the cases and can be called as the second wave. It is not predictable how it will affect the population and the economy, but some breakthroughs such as COVID-19 Vaccines trials at Oxford University and the results of Dexamethasone trials reincarnate make a possibility to make it less anxious.

Progress in the making of COVID-19 vaccines is miraculous, as the fasted vaccines ever invented took five years to be deployed in the market. It will be a miracle then if they become successful in inventing vaccines till this September.

[americanmysticom]

Coronavirus may have been a 'cell-culture experiment' gone wrong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiyTrJehvbU

Sky News Australia 5.24.2020

EXCLUSIVE: The coronavirus that has become a world-wide pandemic may have been created in a “cell-culture experiment” in a laboratory, according to prominent scientists who have conducted ground-breaking research into the origins of the virus.

Flinders University Professor Nikolai Petrovsky has completed a scientific study, currently undergoing peer review, in conjunction with La Trobe University in Victoria, which found COVID-19 was uniquely adapted for transmission to humans, far more than any other animal, including bats.

Professor Petrovsky, from the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University who has spent the past 20 years developing vaccines against pandemic influenza, Ebola and animal SARS, said this highly unusual finding left open the possibility that the virus leaked from a laboratory.

“The two possibilities which I think are both still open is that it was a chance transmission of a virus from an as yet unidentified animal to human. The other possibility is that it was an accidental release of the virus from a laboratory,” he said.

“Certainly we can’t exclude the possibility that this came from a laboratory experiment rather than from an animal. They are both open possibilities.”

Professor Petrovsky, who is the Chairman and Research Director of Vaxine Pty Ltd, said COVID-19 has genetic elements similar to bat coronaviruses as well as other coronaviruses.

The way coronavirus enters human cells is by binding to a protein on the surface of lung-cells called ACE2. The study showed the virus bound more tightly to human-ACE2 than to any of the other animals they tested.

“It was like it was designed to infect humans,” he said.

“One of the possibilities is that an animal host was infected by two coronaviruses at the same time and COVID-19 is the progeny of that interaction between the two viruses.

“The same process can happen in a petri-dish. If you have cells in culture and you have human cells in that culture which the viruses are infecting, then if there are two viruses in that dish, they can swap genetic information and you can accidentally or deliberately create a whole third new virus out of that system.

“In other words COVID-19 could have been created from that recombination event in an animal host or it could have occurred in a cell-culture experiment.”

Professor Petrovsky was originally modelling the virus in January to prepare a vaccine candidate. He then turned his attention to “explore what animal species might have been involved in the transmission to humans” to understand the origins of the virus - and had a “surprising” result when none were well-adapted.

“We found that the COVID-19 virus was particularly well-adapted to bind to human cells and that was far superior to its ability to bind to the cells of any other animal species which is quite unusual because typically when a virus is well-adapted to an animal and then it by chance crosses to a human, typically, you would expect it to have lower-binding to human cells than to the original host animal. We found the opposite so that was a big surprise,” he said.

Scientists worldwide have, to date, overwhelmingly said the virus was more likely originated in a wet-market and was not created in a laboratory.

Even the United States Office of National Intelligence ruled out COVID-19  being created in a laboratory.

Asked why scientists have had this view, Professor Petrovsky said scientists “try not to be political” and do not want their research impacted adversely by tighter laboratory controls.

“We just try to base our findings on facts rather than taking particular political positions but sometimes obviously the alternatives may have unintended consequences,” he said.

“For instance, if it was to turn out that this virus may have come about because of an accidental lab release that would have implications for how we do viral research in laboratories all around the world which could make doing research much harder.

“So I think the inclination of virus researchers would be to presume that it came from an animal until proven otherwise because that would have less ramifications for how we are able to do research in the future. The alternative obviously has quite major implications for science and science on viruses, not just obviously political ramifications which we’re all well aware of.”

Professor Petrovsky said an inquiry needs to start straight away, not when the pandemic is finished.

“The idea of putting it off to the pandemic is over, it would be a mistake,” he said.

“I’m certainly very much in favour of a scientific investigation. It’s only objective should be to get to the bottom of how did this pandemic happen and how do we prevent a future pandemic…. not to have a witch-hunt.”

[ No, a witch-hunt is what the CCP does to its most outstanding citizens.]

[coronaviruscorner]

Should schools be closed due to coronavirus?

Once again, I’m writing as a medical doctor with an interest in infectious diseases; currently studying a masters of international public health. One of more contentious coronavirus topics around the country, and indeed the world right now is that of possible school closures. Many of you have asked me to write about it, so here it is.

Whilst the current evidence suggests that children appear to be less likely to contract coronavirus than adults, it remains my belief that schools should be closed as soon as possible.

The provision of childcare in the event of school closures is also a concern, as a significant proportion of healthcare workers would need to take time off to look after children in the event of them staying home. However, I believe that this could be worked around with minimal difficulty. In the event of specific children of healthcare workers who would directly cause their parents to miss time at work due to being home, the schools could assign a skeleton staff to look after these children at their normal school, whilst still adhering to general social distancing rules. This is already being done in Norway, Belgium and England. An increasingly large proportion of parents are working from home with each new day, so this should not greatly impact on the healthcare workforce. The government should also provide financial support to parents that are unable to work due to childcare responsibilities.

However, despite the relatively low rates of COVID-19 in children, schools pose a tremendous risk in the unavoidable eventuality when students at schools begin contracting the disease. Data from China suggests that only 2.4% of cases were in people under 19, despite 23.5% of their population being 0-19 years of age. 2.4% of China’s cases is still approximately 2000 Chinese children with COVID-19. Throughout all of my school years, I would invariably spend both recess and lunch every running around, playing tip/tag, basketball, soccer, ultimate frisbee etc. All of these involved sweaty children running around, breathing heavily, physical contact, shared sporting equipment. And given that younger people are less likely to have symptoms, waiting for the development of symptoms and then isolating these children will be far too late. The apparently low rates of COVID-19 in children may also simply reflect reduced testing of a population that is less symptomatic from the disease. An infectious child will likely have had close contact with dozens, if not more other students before diagnosis, making effective contact tracing and quarantining almost impossible.

Furthermore, whilst children are at lower risk of contracting COVID-19 due to their age, their adult teachers are not, and this presents a source of exposure for not only the students but also other teachers. Many students get public transport to and from school, providing further opportunity for them to either contract the disease from the general public or vice versa. Students then provide a risk to their older family members at home, particularly grandparents who are at particular risk of morbidity and mortality from coronavirus. And if children are at school, they are at risk from incredibly stupid decisions like the Scots College’s flagrant ignorance of the ban on mass gatherings, as well as all common sense; to hold a whole-school, 1800-person assembly to welcome back their rowing team…

A recent modelling report released by the Imperial College, London, suggests that school and university closures are a required measure to reduce R0 (the number of people that an infected person goes on to give COVID-19 to) to around 1. Reducing R0 is essential in flattening the curve and preventing our health system from being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of cases.

Worldwide, as of 19/3/20, over 70 countries have already decided to close schools down, and that number will continue to rise. Our government has been inconsistent in its response to this crisis, and has delayed decisions that were clearly in the interest of public health for no clear reason. For example, the correct decision to ban mass gatherings, which inexplicably only came into effect three days later, on 16/3/20. If mass gatherings were unsafe on the 16th, they were just as unsafe on the 13th, 14th and 15th. We cannot wait indefinitely for them to eventually decide to close schools.

Parents, I would encourage you to consider the evidence yourselves, but it is my personal recommendation that schools should be closed, and that in the absence of such a decision coming from Government, it would be sensible to keep children at home. I believe that this is in the interest not only of your family’s health, but also Australian public health. However, I think it’s only fair to point out that there are differences of opinion even between experts on this matter, and this is not a simple decision to make.

As always, I encourage everyone to please continue to practice regular hand hygiene with soap and water, avoid leaving the house unless absolutely necessary, and if so practice social distancing. Healthcare workers have stayed at work for you, please stay at home for us! Our actions over the next few days to weeks are absolutely essential in flattening the curve.