Researchers in South Korea revealed in a new study published on August 25, 2020, that higher levels of obesity were associated with an elevated risk of COVID-19 disease infection. When compared with healthy-weight participants, obese people were 1.3 times more likely to contract the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
Coronavirus Breaking News
The coronavirus disease COVID-19 is currently reaching pandemic levels in various countries.
Aug 26, 2020 • 6:43 pm CDT
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Aug 26, 2020 • 6:02 pm CDT
The US Justice Department requested COVID-19 data from the governors of states that issued orders which may have resulted in the fatalities of thousands of elderly nursing home residents on August 26, 2020. “Protecting the rights of some of society’s most vulnerable members, including elderly nursing home residents, is one of our country’s most important obligations,” said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Division Eric Dreiband.
According to the New York Times, these states reported about 40% of all COVID-19 disease-related fatalities during 2020.
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Aug 26, 2020 • 10:50 am CDT
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on August 25, 2020, that he was making Spain's army available to help regions fight a new explosion of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus cases. Spain has a highly decentralized system, with the 17 regions taking over the pandemic management from the central government in mid-June, at the end of the 3-month lockdown.
"The Spanish government will provide the regions with the strength of the 2,000 armed forces to carry out the contact tracing of COVID-19 cases," reported AP/Stars and Stripes.
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Aug 26, 2020 • 10:23 am CDT
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced on August 25, 2020, of the 67,255 coronavirus test results reported to New York State yesterday, just 629, or 0.94%, were found to be positive.
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Aug 26, 2020 • 10:13 am CDT
According to a new BMJ article published on August 25, 2020, the current rules on safe physical distancing are based on outdated science, since the distribution of viral particles is affected by numerous factors, including airflow. Such as the evidence suggesting the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus may travel more than 2 metres from coughing and shouting.
These Oxford and MIT researchers said 'rules on social distancing should reflect multiple factors that affect contamination risk, including ventilation, occupancy, and exposure time.'
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Aug 26, 2020 • 7:40 am CDT
The U.S. CDC changed its coronavirus testing guidelines as of August 24, 2020. The CDC 'no longer recommends testing for most people without coronavirus symptoms, even if they've been in close contact with someone known to have the virus. If you do get tested, you should self-quarantine/isolate at home pending test results and follow the advice of your healthcare provider.'
Previously, the CDC said viral testing was appropriate for people with recent or suspected exposure, even if they were asymptomatic.
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Aug 26, 2020 • 7:05 am CDT
The findings of a study published by JAMA suggest that IL-7 can be safely administered to critically ill patients with COVID-19 without exacerbating inflammation or pulmonary injury. IL-7 was associated with a restored lymphocyte count, with the IL-7 group having levels more than 2-fold greater than the control group.
“IL-7 was associated with lymphocytes returning to a reference level, appearing to reverse a pathologic hallmark of COVID-19," said these researchers.
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Aug 26, 2020 • 6:43 am CDT
A new survey commissioned by CVS Health and conducted among a general population of U.S. consumers, the impact of COVID-19 is significantly influencing individuals' likelihood to get a flu shot this season. The results show 66% of those surveyed in July 2020 said they definitely or likely will get a flu shot this season, compared to 34% of those surveyed in January 2020.
Aug 25, 2020 • 7:43 pm CDT
"United Airlines implementing UVC lighting in its flight decks is an important tactic because we know that the virus can be killed by ultraviolet light," said Dr. James Merlino, Chief Clinical Transformation Officer at Cleveland Clinic. United currently uses electrostatic spraying to disinfect aircraft cabins, overhead bins, and spaces within tray tables.
Aug 25, 2020 • 6:58 pm CDT
Ohio State University (OSU) announced it has suspended about 228 students for what the school says were violations of coronavirus safety measures, reported The Hill. Previously, Melissa S. Shivers, OSU’s vice president for student life, issued a statement on August 21, 2020, which said: “Our Student Conduct team is in the process of opening dozens of conduct cases which likely will result in interim suspensions for individuals and student organizations who have chosen to hold parties that are not consistent with safe and healthy guidelines.”
Aug 25, 2020 • 6:46 pm CDT
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association reported new data on August 24, 2020, which found children were 0.4%-4.6% of total reported hospitalizations and in states reporting data, 0%-0.7% of all child COVID-19 disease cases resulted in a fatality.
Furthermore, there were 21 US states reporting (0) child fatalities in 2020.
Aug 25, 2020 • 1:55 pm CDT
A non-peer-reviewed study published on August 25, 2020, highlights the failure of measures to prevent the importation of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus into the Boston, Massachusetts area early in the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, this study underscores the role of superspreading events in amplifying an outbreak in an urban area and presents a foundation for contact tracing .... based on genetic data.
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Aug 25, 2020 • 7:59 am CDT
Sinovac Biotech announced on August 25, 2020, it has signed agreements with PT Bio Farma, a leading biopharmaceutical company in Indonesia, for the supply, local production, and technology licensing in respect of the CoronaVac, Sinovac’s inactivated vaccine candidate against COVID-19. Under the said agreements, Sinovac is committed to supplying Bio Farma bulk vaccine to enable it to produce at least 40 million doses of CoronaVac in Indonesia before March 2021.
Aug 25, 2020 • 7:27 am CDT
The University of Alabama Twitter account @UofAlabama announced the launch of its coronavirus dashboard, which confirmed about 1% of students (566) have tested positive since August 19, 2020. In response to this outbreak, the university is requiring students, faculty, and staff to share their current health status, even if they are coronavirus symptom-free.
If a student tests positive on campus, the COVID Support Program will automatically be informed and will contact the student to give support and instructions. The COVID Support Program will also tell the student that they should contact their instructors to let them know they will have to participate in class remotely until they have been cleared to return to campus.
Most importantly, all Alabama campus dining facilities are transitioning to grab-and-go only options, until further notice.
And in the town of Tuscaloosa, Mayor Walt Maddox issued an executive order suspending on-premise consumption of alcohol at bars and eliminate bar service at restaurants for 14 days. Alcohol may be served at restaurants only to those seated at a table during this time. This order expires on September 8, 2020.
Aug 25, 2020 • 7:05 am CDT
A retrospective study from Singapore published by The Lancet on August 18, 2020, found the SARS-CoV-2 variants with a 382-nucleotide deletion (∆382) in the open reading frame 8 (ORF8) region, found infection with the ∆382 variant only was associated with lower odds of developing hypoxia requiring supplemental oxygen in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
This means the ∆382 variant of SARS-CoV-2 seems to be associated with a milder infection. And, the observed clinical effects of deletions in ORF8 could have implications for the development of COVID-19 treatments and preventive vaccines.
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