And how will he feel if children and adults die from reopening too soon?
Source: ‘It would reflect badly on us’: Varadkar raises ‘concerns’ over school reopenings
And how will he feel if children and adults die from reopening too soon?
Source: ‘It would reflect badly on us’: Varadkar raises ‘concerns’ over school reopenings
GOP has no respect for law or democracy… These State Attorneys General have no standing that I can see.

Fifteen Republican state attorneys general have filed a legal brief telling a federal judge they support the justice department’s attempt to drop its case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
The move comes after almost 2,000 former justice department figures condemned the move to drop the case.

Late last week, in DHS: Decay Rate Calculator For SARS-CoV-2, we looked at tool to calculate the potential persistence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on environmental surfaces based on temperature and humidity.
The `right’ temperature and humidity levels can increase the viability of the virus by days. Lower temperatures, and lower humidities – such as you often find in a hospital or office environment – are particularly helpful in extending the life of the virus.
With that in mind, we’ve a new Dispatch published in the CDC’s EID Journal that looks at the rapid (< 24 hrs) environmental contamination of surfaces in hotel rooms which were occupied by two presymptomatic students placed under quarantine.
I’ve only included some excerpts from the dispatch, so follow the link to read it in its entirety. I’ll have a postscript when you return.
Volume 26, Number 9—September 2020
Dispatch
Detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 RNA on Surfaces in Quarantine Rooms
Fa-Chun Jiang1, Xiao-Lin Jiang1, Zhao-Guo Wang, Zhao-Hai Meng, Shou-Feng Shao, Benjamin D. Anderson, and Mai-Juan Ma![]()
Abstract
We investigated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) environmental contamination in 2 rooms of a quarantine hotel after 2 presymptomatic persons who stayed there were laboratory-confirmed as having coronavirus disease. We detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA on 8 (36%) of 22 surfaces, as well as on the pillow cover, sheet, and duvet cover.
(SNIP)
The Study
Two Chinese students studying overseas returned to China on March 19 (patient A) and March 20 (patient B), 2020 (Table 1). On the day of their arrival in China, neither had fever or clinical symptoms, and they were transferred to a hotel for a 14-day quarantine. They had normal body temperatures (patient A, 36.3°C; patient B, 36.5°C) and no symptoms when they checked into the hotel. During the quarantine period, local medical staff were to monitor their body temperature and symptoms each morning and afternoon. On the morning of the second day of quarantine, they had no fever (patient A, 36.2°C for patient A; patient B, 36.7°C) or symptoms.
At the same time their temperatures were taken, throat swab samples were collected; both tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA by real-time reverse transcription PCR (rRT-PCR).
The students were transferred to a local hospital for treatment. At admission, they remained presymptomatic, but nasopharyngeal swab, sputum, and fecal samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA with high viral loads (Table 1). In patient A, fever (37.5°C) and cough developed on day 2 of hospitalization, but his chest computed tomography images showed no significant abnormality during hospitalization. In patient B, fever (37.9°C) and cough developed on day 6 of hospitalization, and her computed tomography images showed ground-glass opacities.
Approximately 3 hours after the 2 patients were identified as positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, we sampled the environmental surfaces of the 2 rooms in the centralized quarantine hotel in which they had stayed.
(SNIP)
Conclusions
Our study demonstrates extensive environmental contamination of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in a relatively short time (< 24 hours) in occupied rooms of 2 persons who were presymptomatic. We also detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the surface swab samples of the pillow cover, duvet cover, and sheet.
Evidence for SARS-CoV-2 transmission by indirect contact was identified in a cluster of infections at a shopping mall in China (10). However, no clear evidence of infection caused by contact with the contaminated environment was found. SARS-CoV-2 RNA has been detected on environmental surfaces in isolation rooms where the symptomatic or paucisymptomatic patients stayed for several days (3–5).
In our study, we demonstrate high viral load shedding in presymptomatic patients, which is consistent with previous studies (8,9), providing further evidence for the presymptomatic transmission of the virus (5,11–15). In addition, presymptomatic patients with high viral load shedding can easily contaminate the environment in a short period.
Our results also indicate a higher viral load detected after prolonged contact with sheets and pillow covers than with intermittent contact with the door handle and light switch. The detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the surface samples of the sheet, duvet cover, and pillow cover highlights the importance of proper handling procedures when changing or laundering used linens of SARS-CoV-2 patients. Thus, to minimize the possibility of dispersing virus through the air, we recommend that used linens not be shaken upon removal and that laundered items be thoroughly cleaned and dried to prevent additional spread.
The absence of viral isolation in our investigation was an obstacle to demonstrating the infectivity of the virus, but SARS-CoV-2 has been reported to remain viable on surfaces of plastic and stainless steel for up to 4–7 days (6,7) and 1 day for treated cloth (7).
In summary, our study demonstrates that presymptomatic patients have high viral load shedding and can easily contaminate environments. Our data also reaffirm the potential role of surface contamination in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the importance of strict surface hygiene practices, including regarding linens of SARS-CoV-2 patients.
Dr. Jiang is an epidemiologist in Qingdao Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China. His primary research interests included infectious disease control and prevention and emerging infectious diseases.
Nearly all of the guidance we’ve seen on the environmental persistence of SARS-CoV-2 has focused on aerosols and hard surfaces like plastic, stainless steel, copper, and cardboard (see Aerosol and Surface Stability of SARS-CoV-2 as Compared with SARS-CoV-1).
Data on fabrics, clothing, and other porous materials appears to be lacking, although the CDC does offer this advice for laundering items from a `sick room’.
The guidance being offered to hotels and motels on cleaning and disinfecting rooms appears to vary widely by state. While bed linens are routinely changed and laundered daily, in most hotels bedspreads, blankets, and duvet covers are laundered only a few times each year.
California’s Hotel Guidance, which provides one of the most detailed plans I’ve seen, suggests:
What isn’t known is how long SARS-CoV-2 remains infectious on blankets, bedspreads, or duvet covers. It is likely a matter of hours, but I’d sleep a lot better knowing for sure.
Trump administration has created a new and expansive national security watchlist that, for the first time since 9/11, includes Americans who have no connection to terrorism. The new watchlist, authorized through a classified Attorney General order and launched in 2017, is expected to grow to well over one million names. It also allows the government to track and monitor Americans without a warrant, even when there is no evidence they’re breaking the law.
And while two separate laws require the government to announce new systems of data collection of Americans, there has been no acknowledgement of the expanded watchlist.
Source: Trump’s Secret New Watchlist Lets His Administration Track Americans Without Needing a Warrant
Kharkiv is a Sister City of Cincinnati, Ohio USA

During a court hearing on 18 May, eight political prisoners honoured the victims of Stalin’s 1944 Deportation and pointed to the new methods of terror and intimidation that Moscow is now using against Crimean Tatars
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to permanently halt funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) if it did not commit to improvements within 30 days, and to reconsider the membership of the United States in the body.
— Read on www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-trump-who/trump-threatens-permanent-freeze-of-who-funding-to-weigh-u-s-membership-idUSKBN22V0B0
Can’t bully pandemic or hide deaths by Presidential inaction
Analysis – Two conspiracy theories have merged into something very nasty online and into real world violence. David Farrier looks at how this came about.
— Read on www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/416991/how-5g-and-covid-19-mixed-to-make-a-toxic-conspiracy-cocktail
Unemployment benefits: an unheralded success story.
— Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/opinion/coronavirus-unemployment.html
China’s president pledged $2 billion to fight the virus, a move the U.S. criticized as an effort to head off scrutiny of its handling of the pandemic.
— Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/health/coronavirus-who-china-trump.html
US continues childish antics
The pandemic marginalized the far right, as Germans rallied behind Angela Merkel. But the reopening has brought them back, and they are preparing to seize new opportunities.
— Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/world/europe/coronavirus-germany-far-right.html
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