Coronavirus Outbreak: Daily Updates

The outbreak initially identified in China, is continuing to grow.
The disease is called COVID-19. It’s caused by an infection with the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which is one of the multiple coronaviruses that can be transmitted to humans.
Other examples of coronaviruses include SARS, MERS, and even the common cold.

COVID-19 cases
Globally, there have been more than 5.1 million confirmed cases and more than 335,000 associated deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.
The United States currently has the highest reported number of confirmed cases, with more than 1.58 million. However, due to a lack of testing, the number of actual cases may be far higher.
More than 95,000 people in the United States have died from the disease.
A major study of hydroxychloroquine finds no proof it helps treat COVID-19

A major study of the drug hydroxychloroquine has found no evidence that it could help treat people with COVID-19.
The drug has made headlines as researchers investigated whether it could help treat people with COVID-19, and after President Donald Trump said he was taking the drug — even though experts caution there’s no proof it would decrease the risk of COVID-19.

Hydroxychloroquine was originally developed to treat malaria, but it’s also approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat autoimmune diseases like lupus.

Researchers, who published the study in The LancetTrusted Source medical journal, looked at more than 93,000 people hospitalized with COVID-19.

Nearly 15,000 patients were given some form of medication that included either hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, a similar drug.

Not only did researchers not see evidence that the drug helped people with COVID-19, but patients on the medication were more likely to have abnormal heart rhythms and die.

Young adults also getting rare syndrome linked to COVID-19

Health officials are reporting that young adults, including people in their 20s, have developed symptoms of a rare syndrome now linked to COVID-19.

Officials had initially only seen this rare syndrome called pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome (PMIS) in children. It appears to be similar to Kawasaki disease, which is characterized by inflamed blood vessels.

Experts believe this new rare syndrome, where inflamed blood vessels cause symptoms including severe abdominal pain, rash, and difficulty breathing is related to COVID-19.

One physician told the Washington Post that young adults with the syndrome appear to have more severe cases than children.

The study finds shutting down just 2 weeks earlier could have saved over 50,000 lives in the U.S.

As the United States starts to reopen, new research looks into the devastating impact of waiting to implement lockdowns when the virus first started to spread.

Researchers from Columbia University looked at lockdown measures in the United States and the spread of the virus. While the nation was never completely locked down, widespread shelter-in-place orders started in mid-March.

The preprint of the research reports that if wider lockdown measures had been implemented 2 weeks earlier on March 1 over 53,000 lives could have been saved.

Healthcare workers still report a shortage of protective equipment

A new poll finds that two-thirds of healthcare workers still lack enough N95 respirator masks to effectively do their jobs.

The poll conducted by the Washington Post and Ipsos surveyed healthcare workers across the country.

Despite a major push to get personal protective equipment to doctors, nurses, and other key healthcare workers, many report a lack of basic equipment like face masks, hand sanitizer, and gloves.

According to the poll, 8 in 10 workers had just one N95 mask for the entire shift. Additionally, over one third said they were running short of hand sanitizer and 40 percent said they were also running short on surgical masks that aren’t as protective as N95 masks.

The poll was conducted from April 27 to May 5. Over 8,000 adults, 278 of whom worked in healthcare, were surveyed.

All 50 states move toward reopening economy

Months after the COVID-19 pandemic led most U.S. states to issue some sort of shelter-in-place order, state governments are now loosening these restrictions.

Connecticut was the last holdout to loosen orders. The state government said that the first phase of reopening the economy will allow restaurants to have outdoor seating and will allow some retail stores to let customers inside.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has not ended in the United States, health experts including former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said they’ve seen encouraging signs that infection rates are falling nationwide.