Coronavirus Reads, Digest 6
India records biggest one-day jump in cases, and the toll in the U.S. could get as high as 240,000.
It’s Wednesday, April 1st.
I begin today’s edition with a fantastic story from The New York Times on how this crisis moment is also bringing about the force of international scientific collaboration to fight COVID-19, setting aside personal research and academic goals, in order to find treatment, and a vaccine and save millions of lives.
A virologist says, “It is pretty cool, right? You cut the crap, for lack of a better word, and you get to be part of a global enterprise.”
Covid-19 Changed How the World Does Science, Together, by Matt Apuzzo and David D. Kirkpatrick
News updates from India
India recorded its biggest “one-day jump” in cases, the number of confirmed cases is over 1800, with 54 deaths. The southern state of Tamil Nadu had 110 confirmed positives today, all of whom had attended the Tablighi Jamaat meet in Delhi’s Nizamuddin neighborhood.
More doctors and nurses test positive for the virus in both Delhi and Mumbai, many others are speaking out against the continued lack of PPE: masks, gowns or gloves to protect health workers. NDTV reports that the government delayed placing orders for PPE till as recently as a week ago.
In the state of Chhattisgarh, a patient “with no travel history and no contact with international travellers” tested positive, Vidya Krishnan reports in The Caravan magazine, as has a man from the Dharavi “slum” neighborhood in Mumbai, leading to further questions over how widely the virus has spread.
The health ministry has been doing a daily media briefing to provide updates on the situation, and is the one opportunity journalists have so far gotten to ask questions of the state of the pandemic in India.
From today, it restricted questions at the briefing to public broadcasters and select news agencies. This comes a day after the Indian government told the Supreme Court that all reportage on the pandemic should seek the government’s confirmation before it is published.
Could the lockdown be extended? Should it?
While government authorities currently deny plans to extend the lockdown past April 14th, the effects of social distancing take time. It is expected to have an initial spike of infections because the latency period of the virus can be up to 14 days, and it’s only been 1 week since the lockdown. Hindustan Times reports a study from the University of Cambridge that a 21 day lockdown will not be enough to stop the rise of COVID-19 cases, and that the government should consider extending the lockdown in some form.
U.S. and International
American scientific advisors to President Trump have said the death toll in the country could be as high as 240,000. More Americans have now been killed by the virus than by the 9/11 attacks.
Doctors and nurses are fighting with hospital administrators over whether or not they can wear masks as protocol. Many administrators are pushing back, saying it causes panic. Healthcare workers say they need to protect themselves.
The list of large gatherings in the U.S. that have become “super-spreading events” grows. A funeral at the end of February in Georgia led to the virus spreading through the local community, leading to over 24 deaths. 90% of the community is African-American. A choir rehearsal in early March in Washington State has led to 45 infections and 2 deaths.
While testing rates in the U.S. are finally improving, a backlog of cases in private labs is causing delays in being able to contain the spread. “California reports that more than 57,400 people have pending test results,” write Alexis C. Madrigal and Robinson Meyer in The Atlantic.
Frustrated by the wide range in predictions about how many people will be affected by the pandemic? So are a lot of epidemiologists and modelers. Five Thirty Eight has a helpful explainer on “Why It’s So Freaking Hard to Make a Good Covid-19 Model.” Part of the reason is, there are too many variables and “knowledge gaps” in this situation.
Are we undercounting the death toll from the virus? Because hospitals are getting overloaded, many are self-isolating with symptoms, or remaining in nursing homes, and the cases that become fatal are not necessarily getting tracked for COVID-19 yet. Here's a look at how that may be happening in Italy.
As the U.S and Europe continue to battle the worst of their outbreaks, East Asian countries that have now controlled the epidemic are setting tighter restrictions against foreigners bringing the virus back to their borders. Why Asia’s New Wave of Virus Cases Should Worry the World, Motoko Rich reports.
Pandemics have been central in shaping society and politics for centuries. This piece in The New Yorker traces the transformations from the plague, smallpox and cholera, and delves into the patterns of violence, quarantine and scapegoating of communities that has repeatedly accompanied these periods. Pandemics and the Shape of History by Elizabeth Kolbert
Masks, Should One Wear One or Not?
There is a lot of confusion and different guidelines on whether or not to wear a mask at this time. Here’s a detailed report on why that is, how different countries have approached it and how the CDC is weighing new guidelines amidst shortages for healthcare workers. An excerpt:
“If everyone wears a mask, individuals protect one another, reducing overall community transmission. And places like Hong Kong and Taiwan that jumped to action early with social distancing and universal mask wearing have gotten their cases under much greater control.”
Just in case, here’s a tutorial on how to sew your own face mask.
Side Effects of the Pandemic
“Apart, Not Alone.” Time Magazine. Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy writes about how loneliness has been a problem in America well before the pandemic, and what steps can be taken to address it.
Several cities in China have been seeing a rise in divorce filings since early March, when the quarantine ended. China’s Divorce Spike Is a Warning to Rest of Locked-Down World, by Sheridan Prasso.
Musical live streams are becoming the norm during this social distancing period, making classical music performances from elite artists who would otherwise have performed at Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center, more accessible. “The Coronavirus Hasn’t Slowed Classical Music,” by Joshua Barone, The New York Times
The New York Times has a new section, called, “At Home,” which includes tips and suggestions for things to do virtually or in isolation, including recommendations on what to watch, read, cook, and even how to redecorate your personal space. To start, how about going back to the classics? The Times Book editors share their favorites if you’re looking to “escape the present moment” with a book.
And fashion designer Christian Siriano started producing masks to address the shortage in New York. A previous winner of the fashion reality show Project Runway, he started his atelier onto producing thousands of masks. Here’s a look inside by writer Rachel Syme.