Countries should meet these five criteria before easing lockdowns, study says. Many aren't even close

‘Countries should not ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions until they meet five criteria -- and many nations are not even close, according to a new analysis published in The Lancet medical journal. The research, published Thursday, said that the prerequisites for easing Covid-19 measures are: knowledge of infection status, community engagement, adequate public health capacity, adequate health system capacity and border controls.

‘The authors looked at nine high-income countries and territories that have started to relax restrictions -- Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Germany, Norway, Spain and the UK. They found that many governments had failed to meet the criteria necessary to avoid new waves of infection, as seen in Spain, Germany and the UK.’

Read here (CNN, Sept 25, 2020)

Indonesia: Can Jakarta get its raging Covid-19 outbreak under control?

‘Seven months after Indonesia reported its first cases, the country is struggling with mounting infections. It reported 4,071 new cases on Tuesday, bringing its total to 252,923, with 9,837 fatalities – the highest death toll in Southeast Asia.

‘While other countries have managed to slow the spread of infections with partial lockdowns – only to see a resurgence in cases when they reopened – Indonesia has not yet passed the peak of the first wave, according to Mahesa Paranadipa Maikel, the chairperson of the Indonesia Health Law Society, an industry body of medical workers and legal experts.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, Sept 22, 2020)

To beat the coronavirus, build a better fence: Tomas Pueyo

‘No country has been able to control the virus without a fence. Fences are not enough to stop the virus on their own, but they’re a necessary part of the solution. European countries and U.S. states had hoped otherwise. They were deluded. They opened their arms to their neighbours too soon and got infected in the hug.

‘They need to realise that not every country or state is effectively fighting the virus. Why should their citizens sacrifice so much for so long, with lockdowns and business closures, only to waste their efforts when their neighbours visit?

‘And as long as states fail to control their borders, the coronavirus will come back.’

Read here (New York Times, Sept 14, 2020) 

The coronavirus is most deadly if you are older and male — new data reveal the risks

‘For every 1,000 people infected with the coronavirus who are under the age of 50, almost none will die. For people in their fifties and early sixties, about five will die — more men than women. The risk then climbs steeply as the years accrue. For every 1,000 people in their mid-seventies or older who are infected, around 116 will die. These are the stark statistics obtained by some of the first detailed studies into the mortality risk for COVID-19.’

Read here (Nature, August 28, 2020)

Starbucks Cafe’s Covid outbreak spared employees who wore masks

‘After a woman with the coronavirus visited a Starbucks cafe north of Seoul this month, more than two dozen patrons tested positive days later. But the four face mask-wearing employees escaped infection.

‘The Aug. 8 outbreak in the South Korean city of Paju is another example of how rapidly the SARS-CoV-2 virus can spread in confined, indoor spaces -- as well as ways to minimize transmission. With health authorities around the world still debating the evidence around face masks, the 27-person cluster linked to the air-conditioned coffee outlet adds more support for their mandatory use to help limit the spread of the Covid-19-causing virus.’

Read here (Bloomberg, August 25, 2020) 

First Covid-19 reinfection documented in Hong Kong, researchers say

‘Researchers in Hong Kong on Monday reported what appears to be the first confirmed case of Covid-19 reinfection, a 33-year-old man who was first infected by SARS-CoV-2 in late March and then, four and a half months later, seemingly contracted the virus again while traveling in Europe.

‘The case raises questions about the durability of immune protection from the coronavirus. But it was also met with caution by other scientists, who questioned the extent to which the case pointed to broader concerns about reinfection...

‘During his second infection, the man did not have any symptoms. Some patients go through their course of Covid-19 without showing symptoms, but researchers have also hypothesized that secondary cases of the coronavirus will generally be milder than the first.’

Read here (STAT News, August 24, 2020)

Millions more in India may have caught coronavirus, antibody study suggests

‘More than a quarter of New Delhi's 20 million residents may have caught the novel coronavirus without showing symptoms, a study released on Thursday (Aug 20) indicated, raising fresh doubts about India's official case numbers. Extrapolated, the antibody study on 15,000 residents means 5.8 million people in the bustling capital could have caught the virus - more than 37 times the official tally of 156,139 infections.’

Read here (Straits Times, August 20, 2020) 

Seroprevalence study estimates 6% of Britain's population infected, higher among ethnic minorities and healthcare workers

‘Researchers at Imperial College London reported findings from a large seroprevalence study involving more than 100,000 participants in the UK... It estimates the overall UK seroprevalence to be 6.0%, which translates to approximately 3.36 million adult infections through June 20. For comparison, the UK has reported 313,798 cumulative cases to date, which corresponds to approximately 0.6% of the total UK adult population.’ -- John Hopkins e-newsletter.

‘The pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 infection in England disproportionately affected ethnic minority groups and health and care home workers. The higher risk of infection in these groups may explain, at least in part, their increased risk of hospitalisation and mortality from COVID-19.’ Conclusion of the study.

Download here (Imperial College Institute of Global Health Innovation, August 2020)

One in six foreign workers in dorms contracted Covid-19, based on official tally

‘About one in six foreign workers living in dormitories contracted Covid-19, a calculation based on Singapore's official tally showed, but the true infection rate in the dormitories is likely to be higher than this, experts say. If accurate, however, an infection rate of one in six would not be enough for herd immunity to develop in the migrant worker population, they added. A total of 52,425 out of 323,000 workers had been infected as of Wednesday.’

Read here (Straits Times, August 14, 2020)

CDC head estimates US coronavirus cases might be 10 times higher than data show

‘In a press briefing on June 25, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said that the current official count of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. may actually be a drastic underestimate.

‘Redfield said the new, much-higher estimate, is based on growing data from antibody testing, which picks up the presence of immune cells that react to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. People will test positive for antibodies to the virus if they have been infected—whether or not they ever got sick or even developed symptoms.’

Read here (Time Magazine, June 25, 2020)

Death from Covid-19 of 23 health care workers in China

‘As of March 31, none of the 42,600 health care workers who went to Hubei Province to care for patients with Covid-19 were known to have been infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).5 The 42,600 workers included one of us, an intensive care physician from Fujian Province who cared for patients with Covid-19 from January 29 to March 23, first in Wuhan Central Hospital, and then in Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital. These data suggest that sufficient precautions with rigorous enforcement can prevent health care workers from becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2 and the subsequent risk of death.’

Read here (New England Journal of Medicine, June 4, 2020)

Experts dispute reports that coronavirus is becoming less lethal

‘Has the novel coronavirus in Italy changed in some significant way? That was the suggestion of a top doctor in northern Italy who reports that patients to his hospital have been showing up with lower levels of the virus in their upper respiratory tracts compared with those two months ago.

‘The comments, which received widespread attention following a Reuters report, prompted vigorous pushback from Michael Ryan, a top official with the World Health Organization, who said Monday during an online news conference that “we need to be exceptionally careful not to create a sense that all of a sudden the virus by its own volition has now decided to be less pathogenic. That is not the case at all.”

Read here (Washington Post, June 2, 2020)

India's richest city Mumbai is rapidly turning into the world's next coronavirus catastrophe

‘With more than 37,000 infections and 1,200 deaths, Mumbai accounts for more than a fifth of India's total coronavirus tally and almost a quarter of all deaths. There are no clear signs the situation is improving, with hundreds — if not thousands — testing positive each day. Last week videos were uploaded to social media showing bodies lying on hospital beds next to living COVID-19 patients.’

Read here (ABC News, June 1, 2020)

Do not discriminate against migrant workers, Health DG warns

‘With Covid-19 infection clusters emerging in three immigration detention centres, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has said that negative sentiments against detainees must not be amplified and must not be a catalyst for discrimination in saving lives. The Health director-general said that the whole of government and whole community approach should work together to fight the virus.’

Read here (The Star, May 25, 2020)

Covid-19 patients no longer infectious 11 days after getting sick, research shows

‘After 11 days of getting sick, Covid-19 patients no longer pose a risk of spreading the disease - which means they can be safely discharged. Singapore now discharges patients only after two swab tests are negative for the virus. But a local study has shown that while the patients might test positive, it "does not equate to infectiousness or viable virus". That's because the test detects parts of the virus' genome, but is unable to show if they are just fragments of the virus, or if an intact virus is no longer viable and can't infect anyone.’

Read here (Straits Times, May 23, 2020)

South Korea says patients who re-tested positive after recovering were no longer infectious

‘Survivors of Covid-19 who re-tested positive for the disease after making a full recovery were no longer infectious or a risk to their loved ones, South Korea's health agency announced Monday, adding a new clue to the ongoing mysteries surrounding Covid-19 immunity.’

Read here (Forbes, May 18, 2020)

Experiment shows human speech generates droplets that linger in the air for more than 8 minutes

‘Ordinary speech can emit small respiratory droplets that linger in the air for at least eight minutes and potentially much longer, according to a study published Wednesday that could help explain why infections of the coronavirus so often cluster in nursing homes, households, conferences, cruise ships and other confined spaces with limited air circulation.

‘The report, from researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the University of Pennsylvania, was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed journal. It is based on an experiment that used laser light to study the number of small respiratory droplets emitted through human speech.’

Read here (The Washington Post, May 14, 2020)

University of Hong Kong study finds eyes are ‘important route’ for coronavirus, up to 100 times more infectious than Sars

‘The eyes are an important route for the coronavirus into the human body, according to University of Hong Kong research which found the strain was up to 100 times more infectious than severe acute respiratory syndrome and bird flu in two facial orifices tested by the public health experts. Laboratory tests revealed the “virus level” of SARS-Cov-2 – the strain of coronavirus that causes the Covid-19 disease – was far greater than for Sars in the upper respiratory airways and conjunctiva, the cells lining the surfaces of the eyes.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 8, 2020)

How coronavirus spreads and why it affects countries differently

New study analysing dozens of actual Covid-19 clusters from around the world shows enclosed spaces are hotbeds of the virus... Using these and other studies, Dr Cevik concludes that they suggest (not prove) the following:

• Close and prolonged contact is required for transmission of the virus. 
• Risk is highest in enclosed environments such as houses, care facilities, public transport, bars and other indoor spaces where people congregate.
• Casual, short interactions are not the main driver of the epidemic. 
• Susceptibility to infection increases with age.

Read here (The Telegraph, May 8, 2020)

Genetic mutation study finds new coronavirus spread swiftly around the world in late 2019

‘A genetic analysis of samples from more than 7,500 people infected with Covid-19 suggests that the new coronavirus spread quickly around the world late last year and is adapting to its human hosts, scientists said on Wednesday (May 6). A study by scientists at University College London's (UCL) Genetics Institute found almost 200 recurrent genetic mutations of the new coronavirus - Sars-CoV-2 - which the researchers said showed how it may be evolving as it spreads in people.’

Read here (Straits Times, May 6, 2020)