Covid-19 could foster boom in aid-dependency: Red Cross

Economic hardships brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic could cause a boom in aid-dependency in countries at conflict, a new survey by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) showed – prompting the international body to call for social protection programmes to be maintained or extended and to include the most vulnerable.

In a statement issued from Geneva on Wednesday, ICRC said without concerted action from the global community, it expects humanitarian needs to deepen and worsen in the wake of Covid-19.

Read here (Malaysiakini, June 3, 2020)

Scientist defends Sweden’s hotly debated virus strategy

‘Sweden’s chief epidemiologist on Wednesday defended his country’s controversial coronavirus strategy, which avoided a lockdown but resulted in one of the highest per capita COVID-19 death rates in the world... “We still believe that our strategy is good, but there is always room for improvement. ... You can always get better at this job,” [Anders] Tegnell told a news conference in Stockholm.

‘According to the national health agency, Sweden, a nation of 10.2 million people, has seen 4,542 deaths linked to COVID-19, which is far more than its Nordic neighbors and one of the highest per capita death rates in the world. Denmark has had 580 coronavirus deaths, Finland has seen 320 and Norway has had 237, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.’

Read here (Associated Press, June 3, 2020)

A pulmonary physician on what it's like to treat Covid-19 patients

‘I did not think much about my risk. Doctors are always at some risk of contracting a disease. However, that changed when I was exposed to a COVID-19-positive patient without my personal protective equipment for a considerable period of time and in close proximity. I questioned my "recklessness" in examining the patient (who did not exhibit any COVID-19 symptoms) and my ability to infect my family and other patients. I felt guilty and foolish for putting myself and my family in such a position. It was not a good day. One of my colleagues had even written a living will, just in case.’ 

Read here (Asia Society, June 3, 2020)

Nearly 26,000 COVID deaths in nursing homes spur inspections

‘Nearly 26,000 nursing home residents have died from COVID-19, the government reported Monday, as federal officials demanded states carry out more inspections and vowed higher fines for facilities with poor infection control.

“This is not a nursing home problem; this is a health system problem,” said Terry Fulmer, president of the John A. Hartford Foundation, which works to improve care for older adults. “Every system produces the outcome it is set up for. If you set up a system where the sickest and frailest people are in locations that are forgotten about and ignored, where the staff is paid less, why should that surprise anyone?”

Read here (Associated Press, June 3, 2020)

China delayed releasing coronavirus info, frustrating WHO

‘Throughout January, the World Health Organization publicly praised China for what it called a speedy response to the new coronavirus. It repeatedly thanked the Chinese government for sharing the genetic map of the virus “immediately,” and said its work and commitment to transparency were “very impressive, and beyond words.”

‘But behind the scenes, it was a much different story, one of significant delays by China and considerable frustration among WHO officials over not getting the information they needed to fight the spread of the deadly virus, The Associated Press has found.’

Read here (Associated Press, June 3, 2020)

Governments and WHO changed Covid-19 policy based on suspect data from tiny US company

‘The World Health Organization and a number of national governments have changed their Covid-19 policies and treatments on the basis of flawed data from a little-known US healthcare analytics company [Surgisphere], also calling into question the integrity of key studies published in some of the world’s most prestigious medical journals [The Lancet and New England Journal of Medicine].

‘Data it claims to have legitimately obtained from more than a thousand hospitals worldwide formed the basis of scientific articles that have led to changes in Covid-19 treatment policies in Latin American countries. It was also behind a decision by the WHO and research institutes around the world to halt trials of the controversial drug hydroxychloroquine. On Wednesday, the WHO announced those trials would now resume.’

Read here (The Guardian, June 3, 2020)

How coronavirus tore through Britain's ethnic minorities

‘In a report released on Tuesday, Public Health England (PHE) acknowledged the disproportionate effect the pandemic has had on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (Bame) people, including making us more likely to become critically ill, and to die. Black people are almost four times more likely to die of Covid-19, according to the Office of National Statistics, while Asians are up to twice as likely to die.’

Read here (BBC, June 3, 2020)

Genes may leave some people more vulnerable to severe Covid-19

‘Variations at two spots in the human genome are associated with an increased risk of respiratory failure in patients with Covid-19, the researchers found. One of these spots includes the gene that determines blood types. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study...

‘The coronavirus triggers an overreaction of the immune system in some people, leading to massive inflammation and lung damage — the so-called cytokine storm. It is theoretically possible that genetic variations influence that response.’

Read here (New York Times, June 3, 2020)

‘They let us down’: 5 takeaways on the CDC’s coronavirus response

• Aging data systems left the agency with blind spots
• The CDC clashed with White House aides who viewed them as the ‘deep state’
• The CDC’s culture slowed its response
• Redfield felt he was ‘on an island’ between his agency and the White House
• Confusing guidance left doctors, public officials and others to look elsewhere

Read here (New York Times, June 3, 2020)

The CDC waited ‘its entire existence for this moment’. What went wrong?

‘The technology was old, the data poor, the bureaucracy slow, the guidance confusing, the administration not in agreement... The coronavirus shook the world‘s premier health agency, creating a loss of confidence and hampering the US response to the crisis...

‘The CDC.’s most fabled experts are the disease detectives of its Epidemic Intelligence Service, rapid responders who investigate outbreaks. But more broadly, according to current and former employees and others who worked closely with the agency, the CDC is risk-averse, perfectionist and ill suited to improvising in a quickly evolving crisis — particularly one that shuts down the country and paralyzes the economy.

“It’s not our culture to intervene,” said Dr George Schmid, who worked at the agency off and on for nearly four decades. He described it as increasingly bureaucratic, weighed down by “indescribable, burdensome hierarchy.”

Read here (New York Times, June 3, 2020)

No new virus sufferers, 300 asymptomatic, after Wuhan-wide tests

‘The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak began, has found no new cases of people suffering from Covid-19 (coronavirus) after testing almost its entire population, and 300 asymptomatic carriers of the virus, officials said on Tuesday (June 2). Authorities launched the vast testing campaign on May 14, and reached 9.9 million out of 11 million people, after a cluster of new cases raised fears of a second wave of infections.’

Read here (The Star, June 2, 2020)

Distancing and masks cut Covid-19 risk, says largest review of evidence

‘Keeping at least one metre apart and wearing face masks and eye protection are the best ways to cut the risk of Covid-19 infection, according to the largest review to date of studies on coronavirus disease transmission. In a review that pooled evidence from 172 studies in 16 countries, researchers found frequent handwashing and good hygiene are also critical - though even all those measures combined can not give full protection.’ The findings were published in The Lancet journal on Monday.

Read here (Malaysiakini, June 2, 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)

Protesting racism versus risking Covid-19: ‘I wouldn't weigh these crises separately’

‘...But the risks of congregating during a global pandemic shouldn't keep people from protesting racism, according to dozens of public health and disease experts who signed an open letter in support of the protests. "White supremacy is a lethal public health issue that predates and contributes to COVID-19," the letter said...

Dr Elaine Nsoesie, an assistant professor of global health at Boston University: "Data is showing that blacks and Latinos have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in many states," said Nsoesie, who was not among the letter's signatories when NPR contacted her. "Racism is one of the reasons this disparity exists." She continued, "Racism is a social determinant of health. It affects the physical and mental health of blacks in the U.S. So I wouldn't weigh these crises separately."

Read here (NPS, June 1, 2020)

Covid-19 significantly impacts health services for noncommunicable diseases

“The results of this survey confirm what we have been hearing from countries for a number of weeks now,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization. “Many people who need treatment for diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes have not been receiving the health services and medicines they need since the COVID-19 pandemic began. It’s vital that countries find innovative ways to ensure that essential services for NCDs continue, even as they fight COVID-19.”

Read here (WHO, June 1, 2020)

Rapid assessment of service delivery for NCDs during the Covid-19 pandemic (PDF). Download here

New coronavirus losing potency, top Italian doctor says

‘The new coronavirus is losing its potency and has become much less lethal, a senior Italian doctor said on Sunday. “In reality, the virus clinically no longer exists in Italy,” said Alberto Zangrillo, the head of the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan in the northern region of Lombardy, which has borne the brunt of Italy’s coronavirus contagion. “The swabs that were performed over the last 10 days showed a viral load in quantitative terms that was absolutely infinitesimal compared to the ones carried out a month or two months ago,” he told RAI television.’

Read here (Reuters, June 1, 2020)

K number: What is the coronavirus metric that could be crucial as lockdown eases?

‘K sheds light on the variation behind R. “Some [infectious] people might generate a lot of secondary cases because of the event they attend, for example, and other people may not generate many secondary cases at all,” said Dr Adam Kucharski, an expert in the dynamics of infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “K is the statistical value that tells us how much variation there is in that distribution.” But unlike R, K numbers are not intuitive. “The general rule is that the smaller the K value is, the more transmission comes from a smaller number of infectious people,” said Kucharski.’

Read here (The Guardian, June 1, 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)

The FDA-approved drug ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro

• Ivermectin is an inhibitor of the COVID-19 causative virus (SARS-CoV-2) in vitro.
• A single treatment able to effect ~5000-fold reduction in virus at 48 h in cell culture.
• Ivermectin is FDA-approved for parasitic infections, and therefore has a potential for repurposing.
• Ivermectin is widely available, due to its inclusion on the WHO model list of essential medicines.
  
  

Abstract: Although several clinical trials are now underway to test possible therapies, the worldwide response to the COVID-19 outbreak has been largely limited to monitoring/containment. We report here that Ivermectin, an FDA-approved anti-parasitic previously shown to have broad-spectrum anti-viral activity in vitro, is an inhibitor of the causative virus (SARS-CoV-2), with a single addition to Vero-hSLAM cells 2 h post infection with SARS-CoV-2 able to effect ~5000-fold reduction in viral RNA at 48 h. Ivermectin therefore warrants further investigation for possible benefits in humans.

Read here (Science Direct, June 2020)

Nobel laureate Michael Levitt on the lockdowns: “I think it is a huge mistake”

‘Q: What’s your view of the lockdown policy that so many European countries and states in America have introduced?

‘A: I think it is a huge mistake. I think we need smart lockdowns. If we were to do this again, we would probably insist on face masks, hand sanitizers, and some kind of payment that did not involve touching right from the very beginning. This would slow down new outbreaks and I think that for example they found as I understand, that children, even if they’re infected, never infect adults, so why do we not have children at school? Why do we not have people working? England, France, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Holland, are all reaching levels of saturation that are going to be very, very close to herd immunity — So that’s a good thing. I think the policy of herd immunity is the right policy. I think Britain was on exactly the right track — before they were fed wrong numbers and they made a huge mistake.’

Read here (AIER, May 31, 2020)

Trump terminates US relationship with WHO

US President Donald Trump has announced that he is terminating the country's relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO). The president has accused the WHO of failing to hold Beijing to account over the coronavirus pandemic. "China has total control over the World Health Organization," the president said while announcing measures aimed at punishing Beijing.

Read here (BBC, May 30, 2020)

Is Malaysia in desperate need of a Covid-19 bill?

‘Since the MCO, the government had implemented several measures to combat the impacts of Covid-19, albeit on piecemeal basis. For example, the Companies (Exemption) (No. 2) Order 2020 provided protection for companies from being wound-up for a period of 6 months after receiving a statutory demand, compared to the previous period of 21 days. The EPF Act 1991 had been amended to allow withdrawal by members for the purpose of “sustainable living”. Although these measures are welcomed, a comprehensive Covid-19 Bill is very much needed at this juncture if the issues caused by the MCO are to be sufficiently addressed. After almost 3 months of MCO and CMCO, it is imperative that the Bill covers all bases to assist businesses in rebuilding the economy and our nation.’

Read here (Malay Mail, May 30, 2020)

Coronavirus: the mask of white Australia drops in racist media coverage

Key points: Victims of racism say headlines can incite hate, fear and anger. More needs to be done to stop racism before it happens through education or a more responsible press.

‘Inquiry and curiosity are the best ways to surmount racism, as well-known racism academic and author of US bestseller White Fragility Robin DiAngelo tells me... As DiAngelo says to me: “The default of society is the reproduction of racial inequality, it is the norm. It is not an aberration. It is the default that all our institutions have set up, intentionally, to reproduce racial inequality for the benefit of white people. It was literally coded in law in both our [US and Australia] countries”. I just hope DiAngelo will be completely wrong one day.‘

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 30, 2020)

99% confident that COVID-19 vaccine will work, says Chinese firm

‘Chinese scientists working on a COVID-19 vaccine have told Sky News they are "99%" sure it will be effective. Sinovac, a Beijing-based biotech company, currently has its coronavirus vaccine in stage 2 trials, with more than 1,000 volunteers participating. Sky News is the first British broadcaster to visit its labs.’

Read here (Sky News, May 30, 2020)

Working life has entered a new era: Farewell BC (before coronavirus). Welcome AD (after domestication)

‘Without the Monday-to-Friday commute, the weekend seems a more nebulous concept, as does the 9-to-5 working day. In future employees may work and take breaks when they please, with the company video call the only fixture. The downside, however, is that the rhythm of life has been disrupted and new routines are needed: as Madness, a British pop group, sang about school in “Baggy Trousers”, people are reduced to “trying different ways to make a difference to the days”.’

Read here (The Economist, May 30, 2020)

The mystery of ‘silent spreaders’: An insight to asymptomatic transmission and contact tracing in Singapore’s The Life Church and Missions

‘Investigators resorted to going through the CCTV recordings made at the church that Sunday to search for clues. And they stumbled across something completely unexpected - the woman who'd attended the later service, after the Chinese couple had left, had sat in the seats they had used several hours earlier...

‘Somehow, despite having no symptoms and not feeling ill, the Chinese husband and wife had managed to spread the virus. Maybe they'd had it on their hands and touched the seats, maybe their breath carried the infection and it landed on a surface, it's not clear, but the implications were huge...

‘For Dr Lee, piecing everything together, there was only one possible explanation - that the virus was being passed by people who had it without even realising. This was a revelation that would be relevant the world over because the central message of all public health advice on coronavirus has always been to look out for symptoms in yourself and others.’

Read here (BBC, May 30, 2020)

Gripped by disease, unemployment and outrage at the police, America plunges into crisis

‘America’s persistent political dysfunction and racial inequality were laid bare this week, as the coronavirus death toll hit a tragic new milestone and as the country was served yet another reminder of how black people are killed by law enforcement in disproportionately high numbers. Together, the events present a grim tableau of a nation in crisis — one seared by violence against its citizens, plagued by a deadly disease that remains uncontained and rattled by a devastating blow to its economy.’

Read here (Washington Post, May 30, 2020)

Evidence for limited early spread of Covid-19 within the United States, January–February 2020

‘The first US cases of nontravel–related COVID-19 were confirmed on February 26 and 28, 2020, suggesting that community transmission was occurring by late February... Four separate lines of evidence (syndromic surveillance, virus surveillance, phylogenetic analysis, and retrospectively identified cases) suggest that limited U.S. community transmission likely began in late January or early February 2020, after a single importation from China, followed by multiple importations from Europe. Until late February, COVID-19 incidence was too low to be detected by emergency department syndromic surveillance for COVID-19–like illness... Enhanced syndromic and virus surveillance will be needed to monitor COVID-19 trends for the duration of the pandemic.’

Read here (US CDC, May 29, 2020)

We have different attitudes toward social distancing, and it's straining relationships

‘The coronavirus isn't just threatening our health, it's threatening our relationships as we try to navigate how a socially distanced world should look -- something never done before. And now that states have replaced stay-at-home orders with various guidelines on reopening, there's more room for differing views on social distancing. These conflicts can be an opportunity for growth if we try to understand each other's mindset, according to psychologist Holly Parker, but that depends on both parties' willingness to embrace vulnerability.’

Read here (CNN, May 29, 2020)

Wearing face masks at home cuts Covid-19 spread by 79 percent - study

‘While face masks and frequent disinfection is widely assumed to prevent Covid-19 transmission, a new study has lent weight to the usefulness of these measures in ‘real world’ situations. In a paper published in the journal BMJ Global Health yesterday, researchers found that wearing face masks at home before the primary case showed symptoms slashed the risk of secondary infections by 79 percent. Wearing masks after symptoms appeared had no effect.’

Read here (Malaysiakini, May 29, 2020)

The world is still far from herd immunity for coronavirus, studies show

‘The precise herd immunity threshold for the novel coronavirus is not yet clear; but several experts said they believed it would be higher than 60 per cent... Some countries - notably Sweden, and briefly Britain - have experimented with limited lockdowns in an effort to build up immunity in their populations. But even in these places, recent studies indicate that no more than about 7 per cent -17 per cent of people have been infected so far. In New York City, which has had the largest coronavirus outbreak in the United States, around 20 per cent of the city's residents have been infected by the virus as of early May, according to a survey of people in grocery stores and community centres released by the governor's office.’

Read here (Straits Times, May 29, 2020)

There are coronavirus solutions for resource-poor countries, too

‘No country, let alone poor countries, can afford to risk the health of, or indeed, drive away precious healthcare workers. Rather than put them at risk of infection, and in turn, risk infecting their patients, governments should consider alternatives. In this respect, Rwanda showed leadership. Their whole-of-government approach included: deterring people with suspected COVID-19 infections from coming to health facilities unless seriously unwell; minimising contact between health workers and infected patients; and focusing on prevention and care within communities.

‘The good news is that following decades of investments, many resource-poor countries have fleets of community-based health workers (CHWs). These workers deliver door-to-door services and know their communities well.’

Read here (Aljazeera, May 29, 2020)

Coronavirus may be a blood vessel disease, which explains everything

‘A respiratory virus infecting blood cells and circulating through the body is virtually unheard of. Influenza viruses like H1N1 are not known to do this, and the original SARS virus, a sister coronavirus to the current infection, did not spread past the lung. Other types of viruses, such as Ebola or Dengue, can damage endothelial cells, but they are very different from viruses that typically infect the lungs...

‘An infection of the blood vessels would explain many of the weird tendencies of the novel coronavirus, like the high rates of blood clots... Blood vessel damage could also explain why people with pre-existing conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart disease are at a higher risk for severe complications from a virus that’s supposed to just infect the lungs.’

Read here (Medium, May 29, 2020)

A Covid-19 ‘exit’ strategy to end lockdown and reopen the economy | Uri Alon

‘How can we return to work without spurring a second surge of coronavirus infection? Biologist Uri Alon shares a thought-provoking strategy: four days at work followed by 10 days of lockdown, a cycle that would exploit a weakness in the virus's biology and potentially cut its reproductive rate to a manageable level. Learn more about this approach -- which has already been adopted by both companies and countries -- and how it could be a key to reopening the economy responsibly. (This virtual conversation, hosted by head of TED Chris Anderson and science curator David Biello, was recorded on May 20, 2020.)’

Watch here (TED Talk, May 28, 2020)

Coronavirus may never go away, even with a vaccine

‘It is a daunting proposition — a coronavirus-tinged world without a foreseeable end. But experts in epidemiology, disaster planning and vaccine development say embracing that reality is crucial to the next phase of America’s pandemic response. The long-term nature of covid-19, they say, should serve as a call to arms for the public, a road map for the trillions of dollars Congress is spending and a fixed navigational point for the nation’s current, chaotic state-by-state patchwork strategy.’

Read here (Washington Post, May 28, 2020)

Harnessing our humanity — How Washington’s health care workers have risen to the pandemic challenge

‘Given mounting PPE shortages and the rising death toll from Covid-19 among health care workers globally, such scenarios [of protocol modifications -- including the use of bandannas in place of face masks] induce terror and necessitate rethinking of routine standards of care. Should we run to codes of patients with known or suspected Covid-19? Should physicians refuse to intubate a patient unless they have adequate PPE? Should we offer bedside comfort to the elderly patient with possible Covid-19 who becomes increasingly delirious as unrecognizable health care workers speed in and out of the room while TV coverage of the pandemic drones on in the background? The clarion call of the profession — to put our patients’ needs above our own — is far less directive when meeting one patient’s needs may leave us too ill to care for the next.’

Read here (New England Journal of Medicine, May 28, 2020)

Coronavirus: The human cost of virus misinformation

A BBC team tracking coronavirus misinformation has found links to assaults, arsons and deaths. And experts say the potential for indirect harm caused by rumours, conspiracy theories and bad health information could be much bigger.

Read here (BBC, May 27, 2020)

WHO Foundation established to support critical global health needs

‘The Foundation which is legally separate from WHO, will facilitate contributions from the general public, individual major donors and corporate partners to WHO and trusted partners to deliver on high-impact programmes. Its goal is to help broaden WHO’s donor base and work towards more sustainable and predictable funding.  The WHO Foundation will simplify the processing of philanthropic contributions in support of WHO and make such contributions possible on all aspects of health and WHO’s mission.’

Read here (WHO, May 27, 2020)

Seniors with Covid-19 taking ACE inhibitors have lower hospitalisation risk

‘A Yale-led study suggests that older COVID-19 patients taking ACE inhibitors for hypertension have a lower risk of hospitalization for the novel coronavirus... The use of ACE inhibitors was associated with an almost 40% lower risk of COVID-19 hospitalization for the older, Medicare Advantage patients — but there was no significant difference in risk for the younger, commercially insured patients.’

Read here (Yale, May 27, 2020)

Read original Medrxiv pre-print paper here

Listen: It’s a small World Health Organization

‘WHO is funded for about $2.2 to $2.3 billion a year. That’s about the size of one medium-size hospital, and it has to cover 194 countries. The objective of WHO, as stated in its constitution, is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. That’s a huge goal, and you’re spreading this budget extremely thin.’

Listen or read here (The Atlantic, May 27, 2020)

Amazon writes its own TV news segments to laud coronavirus pandemic response

‘Several local TV news stations recently broadcast strikingly similar reports that focused on the safety measures the online retail giant has implemented at its warehouses, according to a video compiled by the Courier, part of a progressive media company with ties to groups supporting the Democratic Party. That similarity is because the segments were based on scripts and footage provided by Amazon, journalists who received similar pitches from the company said on Twitter.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 27, 2020)

The coronavirus killed the handshake and the hug. What Will replace them?

‘If you feel that personal connections are harder to form when talking to someone six feet away or through a screen on Zoom, you’re not alone. “You’re having to verbalize a lot more things that you would normally express with touch,” Suvilehto says. Hugging someone who needs comforting or placing a hand on their shoulder often feels easier and more natural than finding the right words. Being forced to voice these feelings might turn us into better communicators. “But the other option is that people will just stop communicating about emotions,” Suvilehto says.’

Read here (Time Magazine, May 27, 2020)

Big Pharma chief who developed first Ebola shot breaks silence on Covid-19

‘It's not that we couldn't have done something earlier. The reason that we're announcing these things now is because as we tried to select approaches, we did it with a view that we needed vaccines with three characteristics: No. 1, they have to be vaccines that can be deployed broadly, globally. No. 2, and this is extremely important, these have to be vaccines that we have reasonable confidence could be effective with just a single dose. No. 3, we wanted to develop vaccines that used technology, platforms that have already been proven to work safely and effectively in people.’

Read here (Sydney Morning Herald, May 27, 2020)

Call for clear face masks to be ‘the norm’

‘Standard face masks, which have become widespread as countries try to stop the spread of coronavirus, muffle words and obscure the mouth... Main dans la Main (Hand in Hand), an association which supports deaf and hearing impaired people in Chevrières, northern France, is among the organisations around the world that have created a mask with a transparent window... But one setting where homemade masks are not suitable - but where both PPE and communication are vital - is in hospitals. There is just one company in the US that has secured Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to make clear masks for clinical use.’

Read here (BBC, May 26, 2020)

Politics, profits undermine public interest in Covid-19 vaccine race

‘Some pharmaceutical giants, e.g., Glaxo-Smith-Kline and Sanofi, claim they do not expect to profit from the Covid-19 vaccine. But such recent industry promises not to profiteer from making the vaccine globally available are hard to reconcile with the record that drug research and development has long been driven by the prospect of massive profits.

‘Such firms have been urged to make the Open Covid pledge to voluntarily relinquish their IP rights (IPRs), at least until the Covid-19 pandemic is over... Governments can also use ‘compulsory licencing’, permitted by World Trade Organization rules, to enable companies that do not have the IPRs, to make, manufacture and sell generic versions of patented medicines...’

Read here (IPS News, May 26, 2020)

Coronavirus: Why is the US making such a mess of it? Should we be concerned

‘Should the rest of the world be concerned that America is lurching towards a monumental health disaster? Yes, for three reasons... First, the world is so interconnected today that no part of the world can be safe if the epidemic is not brought under control everywhere... Second... the huge negative impact of a poorly controlled epidemic on the US economy will depress global aggregate demand for the rest of 2020 and prolong and deepen the recession that is unfolding... Third, a wounded tiger is most dangerous, especially when it has the largest military force on the planet...’

Read here (Aliran, May 26, 2020)

A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression, Census Bureau finds amid coronavirus pandemic

‘When asked questions normally used to screen patients for mental health problems, 24 percent showed clinically significant symptoms of major depressive disorder and 30 percent showed symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. The findings suggest a huge jump from before the pandemic. For example, on one question about depressed mood, the percentage reporting such symptoms was double that found in a 2014 national survey.’

Read here (Washington Post, May 26, 2020)

WHO temporarily pauses hydroxychloroquine study due to safety concerns

‘The World Health Organization has temporarily halted studying hydroxychloroquine as a potential Covid-19 treatment due to safety concerns, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a media briefing in Geneva on Monday.

‘The decision was made after an observational study published Friday in the medical journal The Lancet described how seriously ill Covid-19 patients who were treated with hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine were more likely to die. Tedros said that an independent executive group is now reviewing the use of hydroxychloroquine in WHO's Solidarity Trial. The executive group represents 10 of the participating countries in the trial.’

Read here (CNN, May 25, 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)

Take a shot, isolate at hotel: Chinese volunteer 048 describes Covid-19 vaccine trial

‘We were treated pretty well, says one of 108 participants in trial in Wuhan, whose results were published on Friday. The potential vaccine has since become the world’s first to enter a second phase of human testing, according to WHO.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 25, 2020)

China must raise its soft power game, especially at a time Trump’s America is losing friends

‘Research published last week comparing American and German views on China, globalisation and international cooperation showed surprising differences: the number of Germans valuing close relations with the United States tumbled between 2019 and 2020 from 50 per cent to 37 per cent, an obvious casualty of the quixotic aggression of an “America first” White House. At the same time, Germans valuing close relations with China climbed from a meagre 24 per cent to 36 per cent – now equal to those valuing close links with the US. Are we seeing a shift in soft power?’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 24, 2020)

Coronavirus: 'Baffling' observations from the front line

“It felt in some ways like we were trying to prepare for the D-Day landings," says Barbara Miles, clinical director of intensive care at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, "with three weeks to get ready and not a great deal of knowledge about what we would be facing". But what arrived in the UK as winter turned into spring took even the most experienced ICU specialists by surprise. Most people infected with the coronavirus have only mild symptoms, or sometimes none at all. But in many thousands of patients who fall critically ill, Covid-19 is a disease of alarming complexity.’

Read here (BBC, May 23, 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)

Coronavirus is the practice run for schools. But soon comes climate change

‘By finding ways to continue learning through the pandemic, the education system will be better equipped for a future marked by severe weather emergencies... Schools are still scrambling simply to cope with the immediate coronavirus crisis and meet students’ basic needs, but the next school year could present opportunities to rethink how remote learning happens... One big step forward would be universal broadband access... Another is making sure teachers receive training on distance learning, through programs that prepare them for the profession as well as through ongoing professional development... Education systems will also have to adjust how they assess students and schools. Measures like seat time and attendance just won’t work the same way in a world facing so much disruption.’

Read here (Huffington Post, May 23, 2020)

Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of Covid-19: A multinational registry analysis

‘Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, often in combination with a second-generation macrolide, are being widely used for treatment of COVID-19, despite no conclusive evidence of their benefit. Although generally safe when used for approved indications such as autoimmune disease or malaria, the safety and benefit of these treatment regimens are poorly evaluated in COVID-19.

’We were unable to confirm a benefit of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, when used alone or with a macrolide, on in-hospital outcomes for COVID-19. Each of these drug regimens was associated with decreased in-hospital survival and an increased frequency of ventricular arrhythmias when used for treatment of COVID-19.’

Read here (The Lancet, May 22, 2020)

The world needs Covid-19 vaccines. It may also be overestimating their power

‘In the public imagination, vaccines are often seen effectively as cure-alls, like inoculations against measles. Rather than those vaccines, however, the Covid-19 vaccines in development may be more like those that protect against influenza — reducing the risk of contracting the disease, and of experiencing severe symptoms should infection occur, a number of experts told STAT.’

Read here (STAT News, May 22, 2020)

First human trial of COVID-19 vaccine finds it is safe and induces rapid immune response

‘These results represent an important milestone. The trial demonstrates that a single dose of the new adenovirus type 5 vectored COVID-19 (Ad5-nCoV) vaccine produces virus-specific antibodies and T cells in 14 days, making it a potential candidate for further investigation,’ says Professor Wei Chen from the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology in Beijing, China, who is responsible for the study. ‘However, these results should be interpreted cautiously. The challenges in the development of a COVD-19 vaccine are unprecedented, and the ability to trigger these immune responses does not necessarily indicate that the vaccine will protect humans from COVID-19. This result shows a promising vision for the development of COVID-19 vaccines, but we are still a long way from this vaccine being available to all.’

Read here (Science Daily, May 22, 2020)

This is the original report in The Lancet. Read here (The Lancet, May 22, 2020)

Look into my eyes: Communication in the era of face masks

‘Wallraven's research at Korea University in Seoul focuses on facial expressions. "The greatest source of non-verbal information comes from our mouths," he said, explaining that facial expressions, especially in the lower part of the face, reveal nuances in the spoken word. But face masks hide much of these facial expressions. This makes it difficult to put things that are being said into the right context, which may lead to uncertainty, Wallraven said. "Is that person smiling or grinning sarcastically? You just can't tell."

Read here (DW, May 22, 2020)

Why we might not get a coronavirus vaccine

‘When the prime minister, Boris Johnson, told a No 10 press briefing that a vaccine was “by no means guaranteed”, his chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, agreed, but added: “I’d be surprised if we didn’t end up with something.” Many scientists share that view... In all likelihood, a coronavirus vaccine will not be 100% effective.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 22, 2020)

Is everyone depressed?

‘For people whose response to the pandemic turns from acute anxiety into general malaise, Jarvis recommends facing the numbness head-on. It’s treatable, and not necessarily with medication. First, she says, create regimens of simple tasks that give structure to the day. The approach is working for Falcone, the acupuncturist. He starts every day with 30 minutes of stretching, no matter what. Then he walks his dog, makes coffee, and sits down to teach massage via Zoom. Deb Hawkins, the tech analyst, sent me a list of things she’s doing to help others and stay busy: She donated money to a couple of worthy causes, and made an appointment to give blood. She has created a small social bubble and signed up for an online ballet class. She says her sense of self is returning.’

Read here (The Atlantic, May 22, 2020)

8 ways Covid will transform the economy and disrupt every business

‘In this report, we look at eight major trends underway in the world, and pinpoint the possibilities for savvy business operators, investors and innovators. We all know how much our lives have changed, and how we’re not likely to go back to our old ways. We’ll be more cautious but we also may be more creative. As history likes to remind us, with unprecedented times come unprecedented opportunities.’

Read here (RBC Thought Leadership, May 22, 2020)

How fear, groupthink drove unnecessary global lockdowns

‘New York City reached over a 25% infection rate and yet 99.98% of all people in the city under 45 survived, making it comparable to death rates by normal accidents. But of course the whole linchpin of the lockdown argument is that it would have been even worse without such a step. Sweden never closed down borders, primary schools, restaurants, or businesses, and never mandated masks, yet 99.998% of all their people under 60 have survived and their hospitals were never overburdened. Why did we lock down the majority of the population who were never at significant risk? What will be the collateral damage? That is what this series will explore.’

Read here (Real Clear Politics, May 21, 2020)

As the US and China clash, what can other countries do?

Keypoints: Neighbours and partners must work to rebuild cross-border trade and boost supply chains as a leadership gap widens during the coronavirus pandemic. Lessons can be drawn from the efforts of Asian countries, which signed their own FTAs as a backup plan to global trade when WTO negotiations stalled at the start of the 2000s.

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 21, 2020)

Will coronavirus change Germans’ love of cash?

“Covid-19 has probably changed German payment behaviour faster than any single technology ever has,” says Georg Hauer, general manager of the Germany-Austria-Switzerland region at N26, a Berlin-based online banking start-up. For many Germans, using cash isn't just a personal preference; it's a cultural value that they've grown up with — and one tied closely to a national value with centuries-old roots.

Read here (BBC, May 21, 2020)

The West has lost its way, but China may not be the beneficiary, says historian Wang Gungwu

‘It did not help that the US as the leader of that West has made serious mistakes as the world’s sole superpower, including that of letting rampant capitalism dictate the globalisation process. The negative reaction among those in the US who turned against its liberal ideals has left the country’s allies in confusion and thus opened Western hegemony to question. But even if the West should be in relative decline, that does not mean that China will be the beneficiary. Much will depend on whether China’s alternative perspective is credible and attractive to those who are now more sceptical of what the West stands for.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 21, 2020)

Why are Africa's coronavirus successes being overlooked?

‘Take the two African countries I have called home – Senegal and Ghana... Senegal is in a good position because its Covid-19 response planning began in earnest in January, as soon as the first international alert on the virus went out... As a result, this nation of 16 million people has had only 30 deaths... Ghana, with a population of 30 million, has a similar death toll to Senegal, partly because of an extensive system of contact tracing, utilising a large number of community health workers and volunteers, and other innovative techniques such as “pool testing”, in which multiple blood samples are tested and then followed up as individual tests only if a positive result is found. The advantages in this approach are now being studied by the World Health Organization.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 21, 2020)

Doctors race to understand new illness afflicting children

‘They named the new illness paediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome (PMIS) or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) - the name is still evolving - described its symptoms, and prescribed a course of treatment. Each case would require a team of specialists and the facilities of a well-resourced city-based children's hospital.

"We should know in a couple of weeks how wide the spectrum is. We've literally been hearing about cases every day, but we're not gathering systematic data. It's all word of mouth from Zoom conferences and webinars," Dr Levin said on May 12, writing a few days later to say that data-collection processes had already improved.’

Read here (Al Jazeera, May 21, 2020)

How the pandemic is changing shopping

‘Across the country, stores are reopening to a changed reality. Retailers that have spent years trying to get customers to linger, in hopes they’ll buy more than they need, are reimagining their stores for a grab-and-go future filled with deliberate purchases. Gone, they say, are the days of trying on makeup or playing with toys in the aisles. The focus now is on making shopping faster, easier and safer to accommodate long-term shifts in consumer expectations and habits.’

Read here (Washington Post, May 21, 2020)

Why you might be missing your commute

“You can’t disentangle home and work anymore, and that’s not always easy,” says Jon Jachimowicz, an assistant professor in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. A new study, co-authored by Jachimowicz, examines the function of the commute as a psychological threshold between home and work.

According to the study, the daily commute offers an opportunity for people to engage in “role-clarifying prospection”, meaning it gives them time and space to think about the upcoming work role. “Through role-clarifying prospection, employees mentally shift their attention from what they are experiencing in the present - thoughts pertaining to their commute, or thoughts unrelated to their past or future role - to what they will be experiencing when they arrive at work, namely, thoughts pertaining to their workday,” the authors write.

Read here (BBC, May 21, 2020)

Why more must be done to fight bogus Covid-19 cure claims

‘Fake and bogus cure claims are a longstanding, but neglected public health problem. Throughout recorded history, plagues have inspired anxiety and desperation. Time and again, this public nervousness has proved a fertile ground for false cures and claimants to thrive. In this sense, recent claims of COVID-19 cures and antidotes are no exception...Sadly, history is repeating itself in the context of COVID-19. False claims range from US president Donald Trump’s touting of anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a miracle cure to Madagascar’s herbal “cure” promoted by President Andry Rajoelina.’

Read here (IPS News, May 21, 2020)

Let’s remember that the coronavirus is still a mystery

‘I find a gulf in perceptions between experts and nonexperts. Many Americans believe that we are now emerging from the pandemic and that, as President Trump says, we can see light at the end of the tunnel. Yet many epidemiologists, while acknowledging how little they know, are deeply apprehensive about a big second wave this fall, more brutal than anything we’ve endured so far. That mix of humility and apprehensiveness seems the best guide as we devise policy to survive a plague. Hope for the best while preparing for the worst.’

Read here (New York Times, May 20, 2020)

China’s new outbreak shows signs the virus could be changing

‘Patients found in the northern provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang appear to carry the virus for a longer period of time and take longer to test negative, Qiu Haibo, one of China’s top critical care doctors, told state television on Tuesday. Patients in the northeast also appear to be taking longer than the one to two weeks observed in Wuhan to develop symptoms after infection, and this delayed onset is making it harder for authorities to catch cases before they spread, said Qiu, who is now in the northern region treating patients.’

Read here (Bloomberg, May 20, 2020)

Vitamin-D and Covid-19: Do deficient risk a poorer outcome?

‘A role for vitamin D in the response to COVID-19 infection could be twofold. First, vitamin D supports production of antimicrobial peptides in the respiratory epithelium, thus making infection with the virus and development of COVID-19 symptoms less likely. Second, vitamin D might help to reduce the inflammatory response to infection with SARS-CoV-2. Deregulation of this response, especially of the renin–angiotensin system, is characteristic of COVID-19 and degree of overactivation is associated with poorer prognosis. Vitamin D is known to interact with a protein in this pathway—angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)—which is also exploited by SARS-CoV-2 as an entry receptor. While SARS-CoV-2 downregulates expression of ACE2, vitamin D promotes expression of this gene.’

Read here (The Lancet, May 20, 2020)

Job affected by Covid-19? MDEC offers 3,800 free online courses

‘The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has urged Malaysians who have been affected by the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic and are looking for new employment opportunities to register for free online courses on digital and data skills.

‘MDEC Chief Marketing Officer Raymond Siva said MDEC, in a partnership with global online learning platform, Coursera via the “Let’s Learn Digital” under the #mydigitalworkforce initiative, is offering a total of 3,800 courses including Professional Training Certificate through applications until December 31 this year.’

Read here (The Malay Mail, May 20, 2020)

Testing rate here among highest in world - over 281,000 done so far

‘Over 281,000 tests for Covid-19 have been carried out on 191,000 individuals [in Singapore] so far, the Health Ministry's director of medical services, Associate Professor Kenneth Mak, said yesterday. This comes to around 49,000 tests per million people in the country...’

‘Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the task force, pointed out that the Republic has already drastically increased its volume of daily tests [from 2,000 to 8,000 a day]. "We're today already testing at a rate that's among the highest in the world, and we want to do even more beyond this. As we reopen the economy, as we resume activities, testing capability and testing capacity will be a critical enabler for us to do all of these things safely."

Read here (Straits Times, May 20, 2020)

Guide for Covid-19 prevention in schools

‘As we attempt to open schools and learn from the few countries that have done so, we must recognise that the key will be to try and create a bubble (a shield) in which students who go to school "live in" so as to minimise infection spread. This "bubble" also means that if one group has Covid-19 infection, only they are isolated and the rest of the school can probably continue.’

This guide by Amar-Singh HSS and Shyielathy Arumugam can be downloaded here.

Read here (Malay Mail, May 20, 2020)

Singapore schools to open in phases from June 2 after Covid-19 circuit breaker: How this will work

‘Students will return to school from June 2 over two phases as part of the easing of the coronavirus circuit breaker measures that are expected to end on June 1. Here are some of the adjustments planned for schools and pre-schools that the Government announced on Tuesday (May 19).’

Read here (Straits Times, May 19, 2020)

What Wuhan’s frontline medical workers can teach the world about the Covid-19 mental health battle

Key points: ‘The war against Covid-19 has left many Chinese health care workers suffering from depression, anxiety, insomnia and distress. Support from coworkers and the wider community provided a lifeline during the darkest of times.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 19, 2020)

The Guardian view on care work: A vocation that has been betrayed

‘The litany of government failures on social care during the Covid-19 emergency has become grimly familiar. But the mistakes bear repetition, as the latest figures record that close to 15,000 care home residents have died in England and Wales from the disease.

‘There is clear evidence that care homes were pressured into accommodating discharged hospital patients who had not been tested for coronavirus. Some turned out to be carrying it. Personal protective equipment was lethally slow to arrive. In some cases where homes did have functioning supply lines, these were commandeered to funnel PPE to hospitals. An absence of proper testing capacity meant care workers were operating in the dark as the virus spread. Access to hospital for residents was limited.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 19, 2020)

Scientists in China believe new drug can stop Covid-19 ‘without vaccine’

‘A Chinese laboratory has been developing a drug it believes has the power to bring the coronavirus pandemic to a halt. A drug being tested by scientists at China's prestigious Peking University could not only shorten the recovery time for those infected, but even offer short-term immunity from the virus, researchers say. Sunney Xie, director of the university's Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Genomics, told AFP that the drug has been successful at the animal testing stage.’

Read here (The Star, May 19, 2020)

Trump threatens to permanently pull funding from WHO and 'reconsider' US membership

‘President Donald Trump is escalating his threats against the World Health Organization, telling the agency he will permanently pull US funding if it does not "commit to major substantive improvements in the next 30 days."

‘Trump's letter -- in which he included a false description of when information about the virus was published in The Lancet, prompting the prestigious medical journal to publicly dispute his claims on Tuesday -- is the latest action he's taken against the WHO following his decision last month to temporarily halt US funding to the group.’

Read here (CNN, May 19, 2020)

Read response by The Lancet here (Twitter, May 19, 2020)

Unusual symptoms of coronavirus: What we know so far

‘While most people are familiar with the hallmark symptoms of COVID-19 by now—cough, fever, muscle aches, headaches and difficulty breathing—a new crop of medical conditions are emerging from the more than 4 million confirmed cases of the disease around the world.

‘These include skin rashes, diarrhea, kidney abnormalities and potentially life-threatening blood clots. It’s not unusual for viruses to directly infect and affect different tissues and organs in the body, but it is a bit unusual for a primarily respiratory virus like SARS-CoV-2, which is responsible for COVID-19, to have such a wide-ranging reach in the body.’

Read here (Time Magazine, May 19, 2020)

A wave of radicalised influencers is mainstreaming Covid-19 conspiracy theories

‘A growing group of Instagram models, influencers and so-called mommy bloggers have outed themselves as coronavirus skeptics or deniers. Akin to celebrities in the eyes of their audiences — with whom they’ve built up trust over time through streams of intimate, relatable content — these women are uniquely well-positioned to open people’s minds to dubious and false information. It’s a sobering sign of far-right ideologies creeping in from the fringes of social media amid a colossal “infodemic” that’s causing real-life harm.’

Read here (Huffington Post, May 19, 2020)

Covid underdogs: Mongolia -- ‘The best response in the world’

‘Starting in January, Mongolia executed a perfect public health response, and they have never let up the pressure since. COVID-19 did not just leave Mongolia alone. Mongolia kicked its ass. For this all this hard work, however, they get little credit. Nobody’s talking about the ‘Mongolian example’. Instead, we talk about total failures like Germany or Sweden. Like I’ve said, success is ZERO, and Mongolia is as zero as you can get...

‘...they don’t have a time machine. They just saw what was happening in Hubei, they coordinated with China and the WHO, and they got their shit together fast. That’s their secret, not the elevation. They just weren’t dumb.’

Read here (Medium, May 18, 2020)

‘Only 30% would want to receive a new vaccine’ in the US

‘Recent surveys, that included 493 and 2200 individuals, suggest only 3 in 4 people would get vaccinated if a COVID-19 vaccine were available, and only 30% would want to receive the vaccine soon after it becomes available. Confidence in vaccines lies along a spectrum, and individuals who have hesitation about routine childhood vaccines have expressed various concerns. In their report on vaccine hesitancy, Edwards and Hackell identified 3 broad categories of parents’ concerns regarding childhood vaccines: (1) the necessity of vaccines, (2) vaccine safety, and (3) freedom of choice.’

Read here (JamaNetwork, May 18, 2020)

The fable of the Chinese whistleblower

‘While initial contact between the two CDCs [of the US and China] was interrupted by the New Year holiday, the coordination between the two countries’ public health officials was much closer – and, as WHO Disease Outbreak documentation verifies, the time lags were considerably shorter – than is widely believed in the West. The contrast with America’s response is striking. Whereas 27 days passed from Zhang’s initial report to the Wuhan shutdown on January 23, the US took exactly twice as long (54 days) to go from its first official diagnosis of COVID-19 (January 20) to Trump’s declaration of national emergency (March 13).’

Read here (Project Syndicate, March 18, 2020)

Fighting Covid-19 through solidarity and cooperation building a global community of health for all

In his statement at the virtual opening of the 73rd World Health Assembly, Xi Jinping, China's president, announced the following:

— China will provide US$2 billion over two years to help with COVID-19 response and with economic and social development in affected countries, especially developing countries.

— China will work with the UN to set up a global humanitarian response depot and hub in China, ensure the operation of anti-epidemic supply chains and foster “green corridors” for fast-track transportation and customs clearance.   

— China will establish a cooperation mechanism for its hospitals to pair up with 30 African hospitals and accelerate the building of the Africa CDC headquarters to help the continent ramp up its disease preparedness and control capacity.

— COVID-19 vaccine development and deployment in China, when available, will be made a global public good. This will be China’s contribution to ensuring vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries.

— China will work with other G20 members to implement the Debt Service Suspension Initiative for the poorest countries. China is also ready to work with the international community to bolster support for the hardest-hit countries under the greatest strain of debt service, so that they could tide over the current difficulties.

Read full speech here (Global Times, May 18, 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)

No exit strategy until high SOP compliance from Malaysians, says DG

Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said there needs to be a high compliance rate for the standard operating procedure (SOP) under the conditional movement control order (MCO) as well as a steady two-digit daily new Covid-19 cases before an exit strategy can be discussed. “Before we can discuss an exit strategy – and we are not discussing an exit strategy now, only loosening under the conditional MCO – Malaysians must comply (with the SOP). If they do not comply, we might extend the conditional MCO...’

Read here (Malaysiakini, May 18, 2020)

World Health Assembly: what is it, and what is the coronavirus inquiry proposal?

‘A key conference paper, already filed ahead of the assembly, and supported by 122 countries, including the members of the European Union and the African Group, the UK, Russia, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, calls for a systemic review of the world’s response to Covid-19. “Initiate, at the earliest appropriate moment, and in consultation with member states, a stepwise process of impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation ... to review experience gained and lessons learned from the WHO-coordinated international health response to Covid-19.”

‘The draft motion does not mention China or Wuhan (the city where the virus was first detected) by name. But it urges the global health community to: “... identify the zoonotic source of the virus and the route of introduction to the human population, including the possible role of intermediate hosts, including through efforts such as scientific and collaborative field missions.”

And the paper argues the response to the pandemic must be global. The motion: “… calls for the universal, timely and equitable access to and fair distribution of all quality, safe, efficacious and affordable essential health technologies and products including their components and precursors required in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic as a global priority.”

Read here (The Guardian, May 18, 2020)

Download the 73rd WHA, Agenda Item 3, ‘Covid-19 response’ draft resolution here

No shortcuts and people must get used to a new way of living, warns WHO's chief scientist

‘It is critically important for governments to present facts in a way that people really understand what the Covid-19 coronavirus is, and the logic behind some of the measures put in place, said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the World Health Organisation (WHO). When countries open up, their basic principle must be to test people with symptoms, identify the contacts and quarantine them until they are free of the risk of getting the disease, she said in an interview. "Those basic principles will have to be actually followed by governments and cities everywhere. There's no shortcut to that," she warned.

Read here (Straits Times, May 18, 2020)

What are President Trump's charges against the WHO? A fact check

‘US President Donald Trump says the World Health Organization (WHO) has mismanaged and helped to cover up the spread of the coronavirus after it emerged in China. But the WHO has defended its handling of the early stages of the pandemic. We've been looking at some of the charges President Trump has levelled against the WHO...’

Read here (BBC, May 18, 2020)

Guide for Covid-19 prevention in aged residential care facilities — Amar-Singh HSS, Vivienne Yong and Liew Tuan Hock

‘Older individuals in residential care need to be shielded from the risk of getting coronavirus infection. The key will be to try and create a bubble (a shield) in which the residents and staff live and operate, so as to minimise new individuals and infection entering the group. This guide and standard operating policy (SOP) aims to help offer ideas and initiatives that could be taken.

‘The guide covers the areas to consider with suggestions for improving Covid-19 prevention. It looks at policy, staff, residents, healthcare workers/therapists and visitors policies. The guide will be useful for nursing homes, old folks homes, retirement villages, palliative care facilities and also relevant to other residential care facilities for any age. It is relevant to non-governmental, private and governmental facilities.’

The full Aged Residential Care Facilities Guide is available for download and use from this link.

Read here (Malay Mail, May 18, 2020)

What does recovery from Covid-19 look like?

“Eighty to 85% of our patients who are infected do not need to be hospitalized, but they do require monitoring and medical care, most of which is now taking place with telehealth,” Dr. Ellman says. He says it’s typical for these patients to have a telehealth appointment, either on phone or video, at least every other day for 10 to 14 days from the onset of symptoms...

“Generally speaking, most patients can be managed outside of the hospital,” Dr. Sofair says. “But if you start to get sicker, early treatment can prevent complications. If you do need to be admitted to the hospital, that does not mean you will get really sick. Only a minority of patients end up in the ICU. We have had many good outcomes, and our doctors and nurses now have experience treating this.”

Read here (Yale Medicine, May 18, 2020)

China’s aggressive approach to coronavirus criticism ‘not working’

‘Observers call for Beijing to reflect on shortcomings of its engagement with the rest of the world as international sympathy fades. Mask diplomacy and bellicose statements need to go if global relations are to improve, they say.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 17, 2020)

There’s a hidden cost to coronavirus, and China is about to pay dearly

‘Covid-19 itself will not fundamentally reverse the fortunes of the Chinese economy but post-Covid geopolitics will. Beijing will find itself in a very different world, one dominated by an agenda of economic decoupling, disputes over the origin of the virus and compensation claims by the US and other countries.

‘As the US does not want to do business with China, its staunch allies, like Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, have all followed suit. The US, EU and Japan are all planning to lure their companies out of China.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 17, 2020)

Coronavirus: Inside Wales’ largest hospital during pandemic

‘The constant low hum and whir of the ventilators keeping patients alive was punctuated by the urgent beep of monitors. Staff have to raise their voices to be heard here through the face masks and visors. They spend many long, hot hours in full PPE and leave with the marks of the shift on their faces.’

Read and view video here (BBC May 17, 2018)

The Covid-19 Chronicles: The changes we should aim to keep

‘...There are appreciable changes on a societal scale that we can maintain beyond Covid-19... First is the recognition of frontliners, health professionals and experts... The second are the transdisciplinary approaches i.e. all onboard problem solving that has become the necessary norm in dealing with Covid-19... Finally, the collaboration boom would not be possible without the unfettered use of the Internet for facilitating communications and processes.’

Read here (The Star, May 17, 2020)

Australia has dug itself into a hole in its relationship with China. It’s time to find a way out

‘Common sense should put a dampener on a belief that, at the wave of a wand, “supply chains” linking Australia and China can be remodelled. This sort of naive view loses sight of the fact that, for as long as it is possible to foresee, bulk commodities will form the staple of the trading relationship. Given this, Morrison would be advised to cease acting like a global traffic cop in efforts to hold China to account for the coronavirus pandemic...

‘What Australia should be doing – and should have done in the first place – is support international efforts to bring about an inquiry. It will have early opportunity next week when the World Health Assembly considers a European Commission resolution along those lines.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 17, 2020)

‘Normal’ life failed us. The coronavirus crisis gives us the chance to rethink a new economy

’The basics hardly involve a huge leap of imagination: to some extent, they mix what might be salvaged from recent Labour politics with ideas that have long been in circulation way beyond the traditional left. The lives of people at the bottom of most socio-economic hierarchies will soon need to be lastingly improved, perhaps via an initial minimum income guarantee of the kind embraced by the coalition government in Spain. Given that we are unlikely to be able to revive a featherweight labour market based around retail and services, the time ought to be ripe for the economy to be pushed at last towards a green new deal, and the revival of manufacturing.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 17, 2020)

Coronavirus and the prospect of mass involuntary euthanasia

‘In the now nearly half a century I have lived in the US I had never witnessed such a bold, vicious, cruel demonstration of the laws of the jungle ruling this country. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, one could now see in broad daylight the cruelty that was at work in the mass murder of Native Americans and the business of transatlantic slavery...

‘The once subconscious, now blunt and vulgar, desire to murder one's elders is the logical conclusion of a culture of perpetual consumerist youth. The elders of the tribe have long passed their usefulness and have become a burden on the economy.’ 

Read here (Al Jazeera, May 16, 2020)

Has the coronavirus crisis killed neoliberalism? Don't bet on it

‘...All of this is not to deny that the Covid-19 crisis poses a real threat to neoliberal orthodoxy. Physical distancing and enforced quarantine have disrupted the labour market, potentially shifting the balance of power between labour and capital in favour of workers... But given the persistence and adaptability of neoliberal ideology over the past 10 years, any sober assessment of the current situation needs to be attuned to the possibility of its survival (or successful mutation), as well as its possible demise.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 16, 2020)

China trying to divide and rule in Europe, EU foreign policy chief says

The European Union’s foreign policy chief has accused China of trying to exploit differences of opinion among the bloc’s 27 member states for its own ends, while promoting a unique version of multilateralism. Spaniard Josep Borrell’s comments came as President Xi Jinping said in a telephone conversation with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday that China “firmly supports the United Nations and World Health Organisation in fighting the pandemic” and was “ready to work with all countries” to control Covid-19, according to a report by Xinhua.

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 16, 2020)

Antimicrobial surface coating kills coronavirus for 90 days: US study

‘A specially formulated antimicrobial coating can keep surfaces clear of a human coronavirus for up to 90 days with just one application, a preliminary study said Friday (May 15), suggesting a new line of defence against Covid-19.

‘The paper by researchers at the University of Arizona (UA), which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found that the amount of virus on coated surfaces reduced by 90 per cent in 10 minutes and by 99.9 per cent in two hours.’

Read here (Straits Times, May 16, 2020)

Coronavirus leaves China to rule the world? Truth is, it’s neither ready nor willing

Key points: ‘It has become commonplace to suggest China will emerge stronger from the pandemic and try to fill the void on the global stage left by a retreating US. But media rhetoric aside, in this time of crisis Xi Jinping – like Mao 50 years ago – will be keen to prioritise the country’s own affairs.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 16, 2020)

Reviving the US CDC

‘But punishing the agency by marginalising and hobbling it is not the solution. The Administration is obsessed with magic bullets—vaccines, new medicines, or a hope that the virus will simply disappear. But only a steadfast reliance on basic public health principles, like test, trace, and isolate, will see the emergency brought to an end, and this requires an effective national public health agency. The CDC needs a director who can provide leadership without the threat of being silenced and who has the technical capacity to lead today's complicated effort.’

Read here (The Lancet, May 16, 2020)

When it’s time to go back to the office, will it still be there?

‘In a late-April survey among corporate real estate users by the trade group CoreNet Global, 94% of respondents said employees will spend more time working remotely even after the pandemic is over. And 69% said firms will use less real estate in the future as a result of remote work, up from 51% in March... “The supply and demand for office space may change significantly,” Warren Buffett said earlier this month at Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s annual meeting. “When change happens in the world, you adjust to it.”

Read here (Wall Street Journal, May 16, 2020)

Covid 19 coronavirus 'cure'? US biotech company claims it's found antibody to block virus

‘A California-based biotech company claims it has found an antibody that completely blocks the new coronavirus. Sorrento Therapeutics said its STI-1499 antibody stopped Covid-19 from entering 100 per cent of healthy human cells in their experiments, Fox News reports. The antibody is one of several the biotech company is planning to combine for a collaboration with Mt Sinai School of Medicine in New York.’

Read here (NZ Herald, May 16, 2020)

Asymptomatic spread makes testing key for Covid-19 fight

‘In Iceland, where a broad testing effort resulted in 5% of the country’s population getting tested for COVID-19, a lab study suggested that as many as 50% of people who have the disease show no symptoms. A study conducted in Singapore showed that patients with COVID-19 can spread the disease without showing symptoms themselves.

‘Here, Gigi Gronvall, an immunologist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, discusses the challenges of tracing the spread of coronavirus, the importance of testing, and the dangerous appeal of “immunity passports”.’

Read here (Futurity, May 15, 2020)

Singapore study finds overweight Asians three times as likely to need intensive care

The study of 91 Covid-19 patients under the age of 60 also found those with a BMI of 25 or higher were six times more likely to need supplemental oxygen. Asians are known to have higher disease risks at lower body mass index thresholds, the researchers said, possibly because of body fat distribution.

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 15, 2020)

Why China won’t be paying the West coronavirus reparations any time soon

‘Those in the West who blame China for the Covid-19 pandemic and demand reparations for the damage to their economies have probably done Beijing a favour. They have unwittingly – or perhaps unthinkingly – reopened a scar that is deep in the Chinese psyche and given the party more of the ammunition it needs to rally the people against what it has portrayed as hostile moves to put China down.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 15, 2020)

CDC publishes flowcharts to help communities and businesses weighing whether to reopen

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published six "decision trees" Thursday aimed at helping businesses, communities, schools, camps, daycares and mass transit decide whether it's safe to re-open. The one-page decision trees are much shorter than a much-anticipated, lengthy and detailed document that has been delayed at least once.

Read here (CNN, May 15, 2020)

• For workplace, download here
• For schools, download here
• For restaurants, download here
• For mass transit, download here
• For camps, download here
• For daycare, download here

Amsterdam trials ‘Covid-safe’ restaurant

As countries in Europe start to emerge from lockdown, they’re experimenting with ways to get people dining out again. An innovative solution in Amsterdam is currently being trialled and tested. It hopes it will provide a way to help people adjust from isolation to a degree of social contact.

View here (BBC, May 15, 2020)

Coronavirus contact-tracing apps put users at risk, EU lawmaker says

‘These "tracing apps" are less effective in containing infections than human tracing because many people do not use these apps at all. It is completely illusory to assume that 60% or more of the population would use such an app. In Singapore, which has experience with tracing apps, only 20% of the population has downloaded it, in Austria only 5%. That makes the app's usefulness highly questionable. And it also poses very clear threats to privacy and our fundamental rights.’

Read here (DW, May 15, 2020)

Preventing a Covid-19 food crisis

‘Nomura’s Food Vulnerability Index ranks 110 countries based on their exposure to large food-price swings, taking into account their nominal GDP per capita, the share of food in household consumption, and net food imports. The latest reading shows that of the 50 countries most vulnerable to a sustained rise in food prices, nearly all are developing economies that account for nearly three-fifths of the world’s population.’

Read here (Project Syndicate, May 15, 2020)

Trump Administration announces framework and leadership for ‘Operation Warp Speed’

‘Operation Warp Speed [the administration's national program to accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics (medical countermeasures)] is a public-private partnership to facilitate, at an unprecedented pace, the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 countermeasures, between components of HHS, including CDC, FDA, NIH, and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA); the Department of Defense; private firms; and other federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. It will coordinate existing HHS-wide efforts, including the NIH's ACTIV partnership for vaccine and therapeutic development, NIH's RADx initiative for diagnostic development, and work by BARDA.’

Read here (HHS, US Department of Health & Human Services, May 15, 2020)

US ‘Warp Speed’ vaccine effort comes out of the shadows

‘Conventional wisdom is that a vaccine for COVID-19 is at least 1 year away, but the organizers of a U.S. government push called Operation Warp Speed have little use for conventional wisdom. The project, vaguely described to date but likely to be formally announced by the White House in the coming days, will pick a diverse set of vaccine candidates and pour essentially limitless resources into unprecedented comparative studies in animals, fast-tracked human trials, and manufacturing. Eschewing international cooperation—and any vaccine candidates from China—it hopes to have 300 million doses by January 2021 of a proven product, reserved for Americans.’

Read here (Science Magazine, May 15, 2020)

‘A license for neglect.’ Nursing homes are seeking — and winning — immunity amid the coronavirus pandemic

‘Consumer advocates, industry watchdogs and personal injury attorneys say that providing legal immunity to thousands of private companies is dangerous. They contend the pandemic has exposed longstanding problems in the industry, such as staffing shortages and infection control violations, and that taking away its legal liability will make it harder to hold facilities to account now and in the future.’

Read here (Time, May 14, 2020)

You should have an advance directive

‘It’s hard to talk about end-of-life care. You should do it anyway...On this episode of Social Distance, James Hamblin and Katherine Wells talk with Edo Banach, the president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. They discuss how to create an advance directive and how to broach the topic in conversations with loved ones.’

Read here (The Atlantic, May 14, 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)

Coronavirus: How exposed is your job?

‘Millions of workers are doing their day jobs from makeshift set-ups in their living rooms and kitchens, while those in England who can't work from home are now encouraged to go back in if they can do so safely. But how exposed to coronavirus might you be in your job? And how does that compare to others? Data from the UK's Office for National Statistics, based on a US survey, puts into context the risk of exposure to disease, as well as the amount of close human contact workers had before social distancing and other safety measures were introduced.’

Read here (BBC, May 14, 2020)

The coronavirus slayer! How Kerala's rock star health minister helped save it from Covid-19

‘On 20 January, KK Shailaja phoned one of her medically trained deputies. She had read online about a dangerous new virus spreading in China. “Will it come to us?” she asked. “Definitely, Madam,” he replied. And so the health minister of the Indian state of Kerala began her preparations.

‘Four months later, Kerala has reported only 524 cases of Covid-19, four deaths and – according to Shailaja – no community transmission. The state has a population of about 35 million and a GDP per capita of only £2,200. By contrast, the UK (double the population, GDP per capita of £33,100) has reported more than 40,000 deaths, while the US (10 times the population, GDP per capita of £51,000) has reported more than 82,000 deaths; both countries have rampant community transmission.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 14, 2020)

A quarter of Covid-19 patients who died in England had diabetes

‘A quarter of people who died with coronavirus in hospitals in England had diabetes, officials say. People with dementia or lung problems are also among those most at risk of dying after contracting COVID-19, according to new NHS figures.’

Read here (Sky News, May 14, 2020)

Genetic engineering could make a Covid-19 vaccine in months rather than years

‘The established approach is to grow weakened viruses in chicken eggs—or more recently in mammalian or insect cells—and extract the desired pieces. The process can take four to six months to get the right antigens for familiar viruses that change every year, such as influenza. It can take multiple attempts over years for a new germ. That is far too slow to combat a virus that has already spread to pandemic proportions.

‘Instead labs are turning to gene-based vaccines. Scientists use information from the genome of the virus to create a blueprint of select antigens. The blueprint is made of DNA or RNA—molecules that hold genetic instructions. The researchers then inject the DNA or RNA into human cells. The cell’s machinery uses the instructions to make virus antigens that the immune system reacts to. Cells respond to the instructions as a normal part of their daily existence. This is the same trait infectious viruses exploit; they cannot reproduce on their own, so they use a cell’s machinery to make copies of themselves. They burst out of the cell and infect more cells, widening the infection.’

Read here (Scientific American, May 14, preview of June 1, 2020 issue)

From green backlash to reimposition of border controls, pandemic is accelerating tensions that could unravel the EU

‘EU leaders should not slacken in their efforts to tackle climate change. The east-west rift is alarming and cannot be resolved by tolerating disrespect for the rule of law. As for the north-south divide, the ECB may be able to do enough to keep Italy and other southern member-states in the eurozone. But the politics of an unresolved rift may turn very nasty, increasing anti-EU sentiment across the bloc – and could even trigger a country leaving the EU or the euro,’ says Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform.

Read here (The Guardian, May 14, 2020)

Too soon, too loud: Chinese foreign policy advisers tell ‘Wolf Warrior’ diplomats to tone it down

“The aim is to promote the Chinese political system as superior, and to project the image of China as a world leader in combating a global health crisis,” Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University of China, said during an online seminar arranged by the college on Friday.

“But the problem is, [these efforts] have failed to recognise the complexities that have emerged on the global stage during the pandemic, and they are being done too hastily, too soon and too loudly in tone, so there is a huge gap between what is intended and what is achieved,” he said.

Read here (South China Morning Post, May 14, 2020)

Where are all the patients? Addressing Covid-19 fear to encourage sick patients to seek emergency care

‘Emergency department volume is down nearly 50% as the United States struggles with the Covid-19 epidemic. There is increasing evidence that patients with medical emergencies are avoiding the emergency department because of fear of contracting Covid-19, leading to increased morbidity and mortality.

‘Here, the authors describe efforts taken in a community hospital to understand and combat this public health concern by using human-centered design. They share interview themes, the brainstorming process, and implementation of prototypes, as well as challenges faced in the early stages of implementation. They show that addressing patient fears by dividing the emergency department into respiratory and non-respiratory pods and through targeted messaging can result in increased visits to the emergency room. Time will tell if this results in improved health outcomes for community members.’

Read here (New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst, May 14, 2020)

Coronavirus may never go away, World Health Organization warns

‘The coronavirus "may never go away", the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned. Speaking at a briefing on Wednesday, WHO emergencies director Dr Mike Ryan warned against trying to predict when the virus would disappear. "It is important to put this on the table: this virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities, and this virus may never go away," Dr Ryan told the virtual press conference from Geneva. HIV has not gone away - but we have come to terms with the virus."Dr Ryan then said he doesn't believe "anyone can predict when this disease will disappear".

Read here (BBC, May 14, 2020)

Expect more cases of strange coronavirus syndrome in kids, doctors warn

‘Parents, hospitals and clinics should expect to see more cases of a mystifying condition that seems to be affecting children after a bout with Covid-19, doctors said Wednesday. The condition, called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, appears to be a post-viral syndrome, said Dr. Jeffrey Burns, a critical care specialist at Boston Children's Hospital who has been coordinating a global group of doctors who compare notes on the condition. Doctors are investigating cases in at least 150 children, most of them in New York. But a CNN survey finds hospitals and clinics in at least 18 states and Washington, DC are checking into suspected cases. "This multisystem inflammatory syndrome is not directly caused by the virus," Burns told CNN. "The leading hypothesis is that it is due to the immune response of the patient."

Read here (CNN, May 14, 2020)