Coronavirus Reads, Digest 21
Rapid antibody testing faces accuracy issues, Trump halts all immigration to the U.S.
It’s Tuesday, April 21st.
India’s confirmed coronavirus cases crossed 18,000 as the country relaxed restrictions on some industries including agriculture and construction where there are no COVID-19 cases. However, the purchasing of non-essential items like electronics will still not be allowed. The Ministry of Home Affairs will be dispatching ground teams to visit serious outbreaks in certain states: this includes, Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra, Indore in Madhya Pradesh, and several areas in West Bengal.
Meanwhile, following accuracy issues with rapid antibody tests and complaints from Rajasthan and West Bengal, states have been asked to suspend rapid testing for two days. As the resumption of construction work resumes, workers have been asked to download the Aarogya Setu app.
Indian states are looking to hiring tons of epidemiologists during the pandemic, as “more than a quarter of India’s 736 districts have no district-level epidemiologists and 11 states have no state-level epidemiologist either,” reports Anoo Bhuyan in IndiaSpend. Epidemiologists are public health experts who study and deal with the control of disease, so basically critical at these times.
India Tries To Hire 227 Epidemiologists In The Middle Of COVID-19 Pandemic, India Spend.
In Scroll, a data based analysis on how to move from a full lockdown to a graded one considering outbreaks and risk factors of the underlying community.
Covid-19: India should consider spatially targeted risk stratification as approach to exit lockdown, by Jishnu Das and Benjamin Daiels
A detailed and descriptive report in the New York Times of how India’s lockdown is unfolding and being enforced, primarily by fear but also paranoia, causing supply chain disruptions of food supplies, but also stigma and ostracization of lower caste and minority groups.
Powered by Fear, Indians Embrace Coronavirus Lockdown, by Jeffrey Gettleman and Suhasini Raj, The New York Times
Siddharth Varadarajan, Indian journalist and founding editor of The Wire, has written an Op-Ed describing how the pandemic continues to intersect with a crackdown on the free press and anti-Muslim vilification. In India, a Pandemic of Prejudice and Repression, New York Times Opinion
U.S. and International
While globally the oil market collapses as the demand for oil dips, in the US President Trump said he would halt all immigration. The details of the executive order are being worked out, but will likely halt all legal immigration, issuance of green cards and new work visas for at least 120 days.
Trump claims he will temporarily suspend immigration into US due to coronavirus fears, CNN.
Meanwhile, reports are emerging that the White House is “choking supply chains” of medical supplies and equipment to states. A letter published by the New England Journal of Medicine has detailed the lengths to which the state of Massachusetts had to go through to ensure delivery of supplies that had already been paid for.
Coronavirus PPE Blocked From States Because of White House, New York Magazine.
It’s not just in India, an extensive NYT investigation finds that there are many issues with antibodies tests (most of them made in China), including high inaccuracy. But a lot of countries are hinging on them in order to relax social distancing restrictions. Remember, last week the WHO warned of the test’s inaccuracies.
Antibody Test, Seen as Key to Reopening Country, Does Not Yet Deliver, By Steve Eder, Megan Twohey, and Apoorva Mandivilli
This collection of photographs from across the US shows tens of thousands of people lining up at food banks in their vehicles.
These Photos Show the Staggering Food Bank Lines Across America, Mother Jones
Is Jacinda Ardern the most effective political leader in the world during the pandemic? The NZ Prime Minister’s effective measures, including early lockdown yet empathetic messaging and regular attempts to reach out to people, through FB lives has resonated. Also, New Zealand has only 13 COVID-19 deaths so far. Jacinda Ardern's Leadership Against the Coronavirus, by Uri Friedman, The Atlantic
Ben Smith’s media column this week describes how the US’ attempt to crack down on low-profile Chinese journalists in the US was ill-timed, and resulted in NYT and WSJ journalists getting expelled from China, reducing on the ground access and information from China at a critical time.
The U.S. Tried to Teach China a Lesson About the Media. It Backfired., The New York Times
Science
This NYT Op-Ed by an emergency doctor is one of the most useful and helpful medical analyses of COVID-19 that I’ve read so far. After treating COVID positive patients in New York City, he reflects on what he’s noticed is different about this virus, and how it can be better managed so that there aren’t so many critical patients. As you may remember, COVID-19 symptoms can worsen very quickly, and can go from a dry cough to shortness of breath and need for oxygen or other critical support within hours. This, he notes, is because COVID patients, whether they show shortness of breath symptoms or not, are developing pneumonia silently for days. One of the ways to manage this, and know whether someone is worsening silently, is to use a pulse oximeter at home, which measures oxygen saturation levels.
The Infection That’s Silently Killing Coronavirus Patients, by Dr. Richard Levitan
Side Effects of the Pandemic
For the first time in more than 120 years, the Boston Marathon didn’t take place (it’s been postponed till September), but the Boston Globe produced an ad campaign describing the social distancing and stillness of the city as patriotism and bravery. This 1 minute video is called Boston is Still Running and is narrated by actor John Krasinski.Watch it here.
More details in this write-up from Poynter: There's no marathon today, but the Boston Globe is celebrating that Boston and its people are 'still running'
With live events and conferences getting postponed, Meghna Rao reports about how in lieu of postponed wedding events, marriages are taking place over Zoom, live streaming it for their families, friends and would-have-been guests.
What It’s Like to Get Married on Zoom, By Meghna Rao, Zora Mag, Medium
Kolonya, Turkey’s traditional aromatic mixture that’s been used for centuries as a mark of hospitality, is now finding its way as an effective hand sanitizing method--with its high alcohol content, a way to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Travel - Turkey's unique hand-sanitising method, by Jenna Scatena, BBC Travel
Coping with the Pandemic
CNN anchor and host of “Reliable Sources,” Brian Stelter broke down recently amidst the uncertainty, anxiety and tension of the moment. Saying, “It’s OK to not be OK right now,” he talked about expressing this vulnerability on-air. Watch here on CNN.
The Washington Post’s The Lily has featured accounts and stories from 7 different women across multiple generations who are currently living alone in quarantine.
I grew up reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House on the Prairie” series and the “Rose” books. I have to admit, spending hours hand washing laundry these days has reminded me of the incredible descriptions of actual back-breaking laundry that they used to go through in the 19th century pioneer days. This author aptly writes about 10 lessons to cope with quarantine, gleaned from Laura Ingalls Wilder.
10 Laura Ingalls Wilder Lessons Helping Me Cope with Coronavirus Quarantine, Medium.