Coronavirus Reads, Digest 14
Lockdown extensions in India, while the global toll is reaching 100,000.
It’s Friday, April 10th.
India has over 6400 cases of coronavirus, and two states - Odisha and Punjab — have announced extensions of lockdowns till the end of the month.
What’s the protocol for releasing a COVID-19 patient from the hospital? This report in the Indian Express explains.
32 health ministry officials in Madhya Pradesh are infected with the novel coronavirus, leaving most of the health ministry in the state either infected or in quarantine, The Caravan reports.
The recent switch in state government — the Congress was in power, but was recently replaced by the Bharatiya Janata Party due to defections — has left the state unprepared to deal with the pandemic. There is no health minister. On March 23, there was a lack of social distancing protocols followed as the new Chief minister was sworn in to a packed audience. The city of Indore has become an outbreak hotspot, and the mortality rate from COVID-19 in the state is 6%, one of the worst in India.
Is the model adopted in Bhilwara, Rajasthan, the way to contain cases in India?
Public health officials say “lockdowns” need to continue across Europe and the U.S. as the global death toll is reaching 100,000. However, some American states continue to battle shelter in place rules as Easter approaches; some Kansas and Georgia churches, for example, plan to continue with larger gatherings for Easter services.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is out of the ICU but still recovering in the hospital.
Aerial video footage shows the setup of a mass grave and burials in New York City for unclaimed bodies lost to the disease.
Many biotech companies in the U.S. are accelerating their schedules for clinical trials of vaccines, by testing them in humans earlier than the regular schedule.
The Korean CDC is warning of a possible “reactivation” in recovered COVID-19 patients.
China is trying to ban the nintendo game, Animal Crossing (that has become very popular during quarantine), as sharp protesters are using the game to critique the Chinese government.
Coping with the Pandemic
Mask wearing is becoming the new normal in Western countries, a practice long adopted in east Asian countries. As they become either the norm or compulsory in your area, here are some commonly made mistakes (aka Don’t’s!) on mask wearing, with helpful visual aids.
Don’t wash your vegetables with soap or detergent, please! As this FAQ in the Huffington Post explains, it can leave chemical residues in your food, causing other health problems. Food safety experts say washing produce with running water is the better, safer option. A reminder that food has not been shown to be a vector of the coronavirus.
Can we learn some lessons in solitude from Henry David Thoreau, who spent over two years in self-imposed quarantine in a cabin near Walden Pond?
Side Effects of the Pandemic
Amanda Hess writes about how she looks forward to the “communal outburst” of clapping, each evening in New York City in support of healthcare workers. She says, “But the more the ritual is repeated, the more it feels as if it’s for the rest of us, too. We used to go out to concerts or movies or plays and clap for the performances. Now the clapping is the performance. It is our regularly scheduled programming, live and in person when basically nothing else is.”
In Praise of Quarantine Clapping, Amanda Hess
The phone call is back, baby! The NYT reports that in the U.S. the “volume of voice calls has surged more than internet use,” as people are activating a dying medium to stay connected.
The Humble Phone Call Has Made a Comeback, by Cecilia Kang
Dr. Fauci says we should retire the handshake for good. Namaste, all.