COVID-19 Pandemic World Updates

[Meatpie]

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

News updates about its spread and effects, links to research, possible treatments, personal testimonies from members welcome!

There have been some striking developments around the world this week alone so here is a short summary of the latest:

1. Tens of millions of Europeans are currently living under lockdown
2. Italy reports a rise in its death toll to more than 1,800
3. Hard-hit Iran and Spain also see a spike in deaths
4. Germany is to restrict border entries from France, Switzerland and Austria
5. Austria bans gatherings of more than five people, and orders schools and shops to shut
6. UK over-70s are to be asked to self-isolate for an extended period
7. Voters go to the polls for local elections in France despite widespread restrictions

Several European governments have ordered partial or complete lockdowns to stem the spread of Covid-19, leaving once-buzzing streets all but silent as photos above show.

 

[Meatpie]

And just to recap from our earlier discussion in another thread SARS is far deadlier than FLU.

 

[deaddirty]

Thanks Meatpie, I hadn't seen this info.
Confusing that the virus is now known as Sars-CoV-2 - that graph in your last is for CoVid-19, not SARS as we generally understand it (that was a much more lethal but less contagious coronavirus which fortunately was successfully nipped in the bud and seems to have died out).

But worrying news from Italy about a rising number of younger people becoming seriously ill:

[https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/coro...r-warns/ar-BB11bOlM?li=BBoPRmx&ocid=DELLDHP17

Italians admitted to hospital for coronavirus are getting younger, a health official has claimed.

“The type of patient is changing,” Luca Lorini, the head of anaesthesia and intensive care at a northern Italian hospital, has said.

“They are a bit younger, between 40 to 45 years old and the cases are more complicated.”

Dr Lorini, who works at a hospital in Bergamo, told radio programme RaiNews24: ”People are arriving who got ill six or seven days ago and treated themselves at home – and then their conditions became more and more critical.”

Twelve per cent of those who have been treated in intensive care are aged between 19 and 50, according to official figures released last week. Around 52 per cent are between 51 and 70 years old, with the rest all over 70.

Recently, hospitals in Lombardy have seen people aged between 25 and 50 diagnosed with Covid-19 and subsequently hospitalised for treatment, according to local media reports.

“Even if the data is only preliminary, the fact there are more young people hospitalised and in intensive care compared to the first wave can be interpreted as a natural phenomenon,” Pierluigi Lopalco, a professor from Pisa University, told Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera.

 

[Meatpie]

Thanks Meatpie, I hadn't seen this info.
Confusing that the virus is now known as Sars-CoV-2 - that graph in your last is for CoVid-19, not SARS as we generally understand it (that was a much more lethal but less contagious coronavirus which fortunately was successfully nipped in the bud and seems to have died out).

Good evening DD. Official names have been announced by WHO for the virus responsible for COVID-19 (previously known as “2019 novel coronavirus”) and the disease it causes. The official names are:

Disease
coronavirus disease
(COVID-19)

Virus
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
(SARS-CoV-2)

Naming the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the virus that causes it

An explanation of the official names for the corona virus disease (COVID-2019) and the virus that causes it.

www.who.int

 

[Meatpie]

Doctors claim new coronavirus 'may cause damage to a man's TESTICLES' as they urge male patients to take fertility tests upon recovery

Doctors claim new coronavirus 'may cause damage to a man's TESTICLES'

No study has proved that the novel coronavirus will reduce men's fertility or sexual potency. But medics in Wuhan have suggested the likelihood that the disease can affect the production of sperm.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Meatpie]

Coronavirus: health experts fear epidemic will ‘let rip’ through UK

Doctors and scientists urge government to stop ignoring strategies from countries that have brought cases down

www.theguardian.com

 

[Meatpie]

Summary of latest developments

• The US Federal Reserve announced it is cutting its benchmark interest rate to near zero and said it would buy US$700bn in Treasury and mortgage-backed securities as it attempts to head off a severe slowdown.
• New York City will close the largest public school system in the US on Monday, sending more than 1.1 million children home in hopes of curbing the spread of coronavirus, the city’s mayor announced on Sunday, calling it a “very troubling moment”.
• UK over-70’s will be asked to self-isolate for up to four months, in order to protect them from the virus, he told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday.
• UK health secretary Matt Hancock said Britain has not ruled out following other countries and closing restaurants, bars and other shops to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
• British police will have powers to arrest Covid-19 patients not self-isolating, the health secretary has confirmed.
• Boris Johnson plans to hold daily ministerial press conferences on the crisis, in an attempt to shore up public confidence in the government’s handling of the pandemic.
• Iran recorded the highest number of deaths in a single day from coronavirus on Saturday, with 113 new deaths in the past 24 hours, meaning the country’s death toll from the coronavirus has reached 724. There are 13,938 people infected across the country.
• Spain reports deaths have jumped in a day to 288. The number of deaths in Spain from the coronavirus have more than doubled in a day, to 288, with the number of infections near 8,000.
• People in Norway have been ordered to leave their countryside cabins and return to their homes, due to fears rural hospitals could be overwhelmed, according to Norwegian media.
• Nike is set to close all of its stores in the United States and several other countries to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
• The US embassy and the British Foreign Office are advising their non-resident citizens to leave Argentina quickly while flights are still open.
• The death toll in Italy increased by 25% to 1,809 from 1,441 on Sunday – a rise of 368. The total number of confirmed cases in Italy rose to 24,747 from 21,157 on Saturday.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tested negative for coronavirus, his office said in a statement on Sunday.
• Louis Vuitton owner LVMH has said its cosmetics unit would manufacture large quantities of hand disinfectant gel to help stave off a nationwide shortage across France as the coronavirus continues to spread.
• South Africa has declared a national disaster and introduced a series of drastic measures to fight the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
• Luxembourg on Sunday followed its neighbours France and Belgium in closing bars and restaurants to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus epidemic.
• California governor Gavin Newsom has directed the closure of all bars, wineries, nightclubs and brewpubs in the state and called for all seniors age 65 years or older to stay in home isolation to curb the spread of coronavirus.
• The US now has more than 2,900 cases in 49 states, Vice-President Mike Pence said in a press briefing on Sunday evening.
• Lawyers acting for the mother of a child who has asthma and attends a primary school in County Armagh are planning to launch a judicial review of the Stormont government’s decision not to close schools in Northern Ireland.

 

[Meatpie]

Why are bat viruses so deadly?

Coronavirus outbreak raises question: Why are bat viruses so deadly? Bats' fierce immune systems drive viruses to higher virulence, making them deadlier in humans

A study of cultured bat cells shows that their strong immune responses, constantly primed to respond to viruses, can drive viruses to greater virulence. Modelling bat immune systems on a computer, the researchers showed that when bat cells quickly release interferon upon infection, other cells...

www.sciencedaily.com

 

[Meatpie]

Striking headlines on CNN today, March 16.

 

[Meatpie]

Iran reports more than 100 new virus deaths as fears mount

The official leading Iran’s response to the new coronavirus acknowledged Sunday that the pandemic could overwhelm health facilities in his country, which is battling the worst outbreak in the Middle East while under heavy U.S. sanctions.

Elsewhere in the region, Lebanon ordered residents not to leave their homes except for urgent necessities and even closed down Beirut’s famous Mediterranean boardwalk. Muslim authorities indefinitely closed the Al-Aqsa mosque in east Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, with prayers continuing to be held on the sprawling esplanade outside.

Iran’s Health Ministry on Sunday reported another 113 deaths, the biggest single-day jump in fatalities. That brings the country’s total death toll to 724, with nearly 14,000 confirmed cases, one of the worst outbreaks outside China.

“If the trend continues, there will not be enough capacity,” Ali Reza Zali, who is leading the campaign against the outbreak, was quoted as saying by the state-run IRNA news agency.

Iran reports more than 100 new virus deaths as fears mount

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The official leading Iran's response to the new coronavirus acknowledged Sunday that the pandemic could overwhelm health facilities in his country, which is battling the worst outbreak in the Middle East while under heavy U.S. sanctions.

apnews.com

 

[Meatpie]

Another video from Iran today.

 

[Meatpie]

Coronavirus vaccine test opens with 1st doses in USA.

U.S. researchers gave the first shots in a first test of an experimental coronavirus vaccine Monday, leading off a worldwide hunt for protection even as the pandemic surges.

With careful jabs in the arms of four healthy volunteers, scientists at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute in Seattle began an anxiously awaited first-stage study of a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed in record time after the new virus exploded out of China and fanned out across the globe.

“We’re team coronavirus now,” Kaiser Permanente study leader Dr. Lisa Jackson said on the eve of the experiment. “Everyone wants to do what they can in this emergency.”

AP Exclusive: Coronavirus vaccine test opens with 1st doses

SEATTLE (AP) — U.S. researchers gave the first shots in a first test of an experimental coronavirus vaccine Monday, leading off a worldwide hunt for protection even as the pandemic surges.

apnews.com

 

[Meatpie]

I can't believe the Chinese infected the entire world with SARS.

Everything is shuttting down here and we are confined to our homes.

With each passing day more and more things are shutting down and unable to function causing additional anxiety and panic.

New cases are reported every hour almost it is like an explosion.

 

[deaddirty]

Not fair to blame the Chinese - the species jump just happened to happen there, and Wuhan paid a terrible price for bad luck. Next one could start in Bulgaria or UK for all we know.

 

[Meatpie]

Coronavirus deaths are so high in Italy that some places have waiting list for burials, and funerals are taking place with no family members there

Coronavirus deaths are so high in Italy that some places have a waiting list for burials and funerals are happening with no family members there

Funeral services in the part of Italy hit hardest by the coronavirus outbreak are overwhelmed, with one crematorium working around the clock.

www.businessinsider.sg

 

[deaddirty]

Some hopeful news.

Japanese flu drug 'clearly effective' in treating coronavirus, says China

Shares in Fujifilm Toyama Chemical, which developed favipiravir, surged after praise by Chinese official

www.theguardian.com

 

[deaddirty]

And some important info for anyone who has the coronavirus - there is some evidence that ibuprofen may make things worse. This is controversial - the BBC news earlier today quoted a senior scientist as saying that the reliable evidence is weak, with some of the claims being fake news. But there are genuine questions about ibuprofen increasing the risk of serious illness, so surely it makes sense to avoid it just in case. Paracetamol (Tylenol in the US?) is believed to be safe - it won't help the underlying illness but it does reduce fever and muscle pains.

Health experts criticise NHS advice to take ibuprofen for Covid-19

Comments come after French authorities say such drugs could aggravate condition

www.theguardian.com

 

[Meatpie]

Shoppers across the UK are faced with empty shelves at stores today but the government insists there is no food shortage.

 

[Meatpie]

Coffins of coronavirus victims were whisked away on a fleet of army trucks last night after a cemetery in northern Italy was overwhelmed by the death toll.

The column of army trucks brought the dead out of Bergamo on Wednesday night in what Italians have called 'one of the saddest photos in the history of our country'.

The cemetery in Bergamo can no longer cope with the mounting death toll in the city, where more than 4,300 people have been infected and at least 93 have died.

Mortuaries are full and crematorium staff have been handling 24 bodies a day, including the regular drumbeat of non-virus deaths, meaning the bodies of virus victims have had to be dispatched to neighbouring provinces.

Military trucks transport Italian coronavirus victims' coffins

The cemetery in Bergamo can no longer cope with the mounting death toll in the city, where more than 4,300 people have been infected and at least 93 have died.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[phyzzique]

20-year-old coronavirus victim was told ‘no need to worry’ by doctors
The tragic 20-year-old soccer coach who is one of the youngest known coronavirus victims had been sent home twice while seeking help — told by his doctor that there was “no need to worry,” according to his family.
Spanish youth coach Francisco Garcia — who would have turned 21 in October — initially thought he had a common cold when he fell ill on March 6, his stepfather, Juan Fernandez, told the Sun.

20-year-old coronavirus victim was told ‘no need to worry’ by doctors

The tragic 20-year-old soccer coach who is one of the youngest known coronavirus victims had been sent home twice while seeking help — told by his doctor that there was “no need to worr…

nypost.com