US health agency says testing not needed for some exposed to Covid-19, sparking outcry

‘The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said this week that people who were exposed to COVID-19 but are not symptomatic may not need to be tested, sparking outcry among officials and experts who fear the changed guidance was politically motivated. The advice marks a reversal of the agency's previous position recommending testing for all close contacts of people diagnosed with COVID-19, narrowing the scope of instances where the CDC recommends testing. CNN and The New York Times reported on Wednesday that US public health officials were ordered by high-level members of the Trump administration to push forward with the changes.’

Read here (Channel News Asia, August 27, 2020)

Being a coronavirus tester has been a life-changing experience

‘Back in the first week, the manual sample handling process allowed us to process several hundred samples. With more volunteers coming in, this increased to several thousand, and when we roped in robots to help, it quickly reached tens of thousands of processed tests per day. Just like the spread of the virus we were competing against, our capacity was growing exponentially. What would normally have taken months or years to establish, now took days or weeks.’

Read here (Channel News Asia, August 22, 2020)

WHO downplays danger of coronavirus latching on to food packaging

‘Two cities in China have found traces of the new coronavirus in cargoes of imported frozen food, local authorities said on Thursday (Aug 13), although the World Health Organization downplayed the risk of the virus entering the food chain. A sample taken from the surface of frozen chicken wings imported into the southern city of Shenzhen from Brazil, as well as samples of outer packaging of frozen Ecuadorian shrimp sold in the northwestern city of Xian, have tested positive for the virus, local Chinese authorities said.

‘Viruses can survive up to two years at temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius, but scientists and officials say there is no strong evidence so far the coronavirus can spread via frozen food.’

Read here (Channel News Asia, August 14, 2020)

Antibody levels in recovered COVID-19 patients decline quickly, Chinese study finds

‘Levels of an antibody found in recovered COVID-19 patients fell sharply in two to three months after infection for both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, according to a Chinese study, raising questions about the length of any immunity against the novel coronavirus. The research, published in Nature Medicine on Jun 18, highlights the risks of using COVID-19 "immunity passports" and supports the prolonged use of public health interventions such as social distancing and isolating high-risk groups, researchers said.’

Read here (Channel News Asia, June 22, 2020)

Malaysia is beating all these brutal COVID-19 expectations

‘To the casual observer, Malaysia’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak may seem bungled. Media reports highlighted a mass religious gathering later linked to thousands of infections and the Ministry of Women’s advice that wives maintain a presentable appearance and avoiding nagging and sarcasm under lockdown. But Malaysia’s response deserves greater recognition as a meaningful example for countries that have insecure borders, significant mobile and vulnerable populations, larger households in denser living conditions and less than ideal political situations.’

Read here (Channel News Asia, May 4, 2020)

Undaunted by COVID-19 and border controls, Malaysian mums in Singapore send around 3,000kg of breast milk to babies back home

‘Just as the women exhausted all possible channels and nearly lost hope in late March, a Malaysia-based forwarder agreed to help them, first with 20 boxes of frozen breast milk from Singapore to Johor at a small fee of S$10 on Mar 29, and then another 20 boxes to states farther away two days later. The maximum weight for each box is 20kg... The mums were elated, and at the same time anxious about when their turn would come. Luck was on their side when one of them approached Johor’s Stulang assemblyman Andrew Chen Kah Eng for help... Never in history has a large quantity of frozen breast milk been brought over the Causeway in such a manner, the Democratic Action Party politician claimed. Usually, mothers just bring their own breast milk across the border as part of their personal luggage.’

Read here (Channel News Asia, April 21, 2020)

Coronavirus found in air samples up to 4 metres from patients: China study

’A new study examining air samples from hospital wards with COVID-19 patients has found the virus can travel up to 4m – twice the distance current guidelines say people should leave between themselves in public. The preliminary results of the investigation by Chinese researchers were published on Friday in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).‘

Read here (Channel News Asia, April 11, 2020)