Category Archives: pandemic

Opinion | Doctors Know the Second Coronavirus Wave Is Coming – The New York Times

We’re keeping empty units available. The virus is still here.
— Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/06/16/opinion/coronavirus-hospital-second-wave.html

COVID-19 hot spots emerge in South, Southwest | CIDRAP – Arizona Governor ok with more people dying?

Governor Doug Ducey said late last week the rising case counts will not result in a second stay-at-home order. On Twitter, Ducey wrote that the surge in cases was expected.

“As our state gradually reopens & more people move about, we’re seeing increased transmission, which is to be expected. This is happening around the country. To be clear, however: our hospitals have capacity & anyone who might need health care due to #COVID19 has access to it,” he tweeted.

Source: COVID-19 hot spots emerge in South, Southwest | CIDRAP

South Korea grappling with growing elderly patients, untraceable Covid-19 cases, East Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

Richway is a door-to-door sales company that organizes marketing events targeting elderly people, such as health seminars and recreational activities, so as to sell products to them.

The number of cases traced back to the cluster has grown to 169, including 41 who had personally visited the company.

Source: South Korea grappling with growing elderly patients, untraceable Covid-19 cases, East Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

Florida coronavirus: State tallies 2,581 more COVID-19 cases, largest spike recorded | WFLA

TAMPA (WFLA) – The Florida Dept. of Health reported over 2,500 more positive cases of COVID-19 Saturday, the largest single day spike of cases since the department started counting. New numbers released by state health officials Saturday morning show the state has a total of 73,552 cases, up 2,581 since Friday. Florida has seen an increase of […]
— Read on www.wfla.com/community/health/coronavirus/florida-coronavirus-state-tallies-2581-more-covid-19-cases-48-deaths/

Tamil Nadu lawmaker dies from Covid-19 on his birthday as disease spreads at ‘lightning speed’ in the state, South Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

“A major factor is that Tamil Nadu’s contact tracing is not rigorous enough, and testing was not systematic until late May,” said Dr T. Sundararaman, a public health expert. Even after the nationwide lockdown and closure of flights, trains and buses, the state tested only cases with travel history and direct contact with Covid-19 patients. Only since late May did it begin to test people with coronavirus symptoms. But it still does not test patients suspected of having died from the disease. This leads to a misleadingly low death rate and no tracing of the contacts of the deceased.

Source: Tamil Nadu lawmaker dies from Covid-19 on his birthday as disease spreads at ‘lightning speed’ in the state, South Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

Coronavirus cases spike in southwestern US | News | DW | 10.06.2020

Cases in Arizona — one of the first states to reopen in mid-May — have increased 115% since the lockdown eased. A former state health chief warned that a new stay-at-home order or field hospitals may be needed. Utah and New Mexico all posted rises of 40% or higher for the week ended Sunday, compared with the prior seven days, according to a Reuters analysis. California has also seen an uptick in cases and has placed nine counties on a watch list, meaning harsher coronavirus measures could be reinstated. The counties the list include Los Angeles, Santa Clara and Fresno ­­— where 18 million of California’s 39 million residents live, reported Reuters.

Source: Coronavirus cases spike in southwestern US | News | DW | 10.06.2020

Coronavirus: Hospitals overwhelmed in Delhi and other major Indian cities, South Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

In Mr Jain’s case, the first two hospitals refused to take his brother-in-law, saying there were no beds. He was admitted by a third hospital but it discharged him after he tested positive for Covid 19, saying it did not have an isolation ward.

“They had no ambulances so I had to arrange for a private ambulance. The ambulance didn’t have an oxygen cylinder. I begged the hospital to give me one but they refused,” said Mr Jain.

A fourth hospital also had no beds and referred him to a fifth, where he and his sister, the wife of the patient, had to physically move the sick man from the ambulance to the room because health workers were overwhelmed by other Covid 19 cases.

Tragically, Mr Jain’s brother-in-law, a businessman, died on June 3 from Covid 19. Mr Jain’s sister and her children, aged 21, 18 and 12, have tested positive and are now in home quarantine.

Mr Jain said: “He passed away before my eyes. The hospital said you should cremate the body yourself. At the crematorium, me and my nephew, 18, bought PPE kits, which is sold there and we had to do the last rites ourselves.

Source: Coronavirus: Hospitals overwhelmed in Delhi and other major Indian cities, South Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

Airlines Say Everybody Onboard Must Wear a Mask. So Why Aren’t They? – The New York Times – Second Wave flying to you today! :(

“Airlines have said follow the guidelines, but don’t enforce them, don’t tackle people to the ground and don’t turn flights around if they don’t listen,” said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants union. “That gets around to the public then it’s, ‘I don’t have to do this. There are no consequences if I don’t do this.’ That, too, can lead to conflict, not just with the flight attendants, but with other passengers, who get angry and all of a sudden we have to break up a fight.”

Recent passengers on Delta Air Lines have posted on Twitter about fliers failing to wear masks (“What’s the point in requiring if there is no follow through?” one man asked the airline in a tweet). Another Delta passenger wrote on Twitter that he asked a flight attendant about the mask rule after seeing a passenger, a flight attendant and the pilot without masks on. He was told that the rules couldn’t be enforced.