COVID-19 day 170: 📈 3,054,699 cases; 132,300 deaths : 08 July 2020
Another milestone: 3 million cases; Houston cancels Texas GOP in-person state convention as the city marks increase in at-home deaths; journalists plan to sue Brazil's president
It’s day 170 since the first case of coronavirus disease was announced in the United States. The US crossed the 3 million case mark; the world crossed the 12 million case mark; and Johns Hopkins reported another 242,037 global cases.
It’s 08 July. The first case of coronavirus in the US was identified on 21 January. And yet there is still a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers — face shields, gloves, gowns and masks.
Nurses say they are reusing N95 masks for days and even weeks at a time. Doctors say they can’t reopen offices because they lack personal protective equipment. State officials say they have scoured U.S. and international suppliers for PPE and struggle to get orders filled. Experts worry the problem could worsen as coronavirus infections climb, straining medical systems.
🦠 Wednesday, Johns Hopkins reported 3,054,699 (58,601 new) cases and 132,300 (820 new) deaths, an increase of 1.96% (2.04%) and 0.62% (0.90%), respectively, since Tuesday (Monday). A week ago, the daily numbers increased by 1.69% and 1.01%, respectively.
The seven-day average: 52,533 ⬆️ (50,401) cases and 611 ⬇️ (668 ) deaths
Percent of cases leading to death: 4.33% (4.39% ⬇️)
Today’s case rate is 922.86 per 100,000; the death rate, 39.97 per 100,000
One week ago, the case rate was 758.35 per 100,000; the death rate, 37.93 per 100,000
Note: numbers in (.) are from the prior day and are provided for context. I include the seven-day average because dailies vary so much in the course of a week, particularly over a weekend.
🔬 Research and medical news
▪️ This is not the first news story or journal article to explore how COVID-19 affects the brains of some patients. For me, this would be my biggest fear should I contract the disease.
“We’re seeing things in the way Covid-19 affects the brain that we haven’t seen before with other viruses,” said Michael Zandi, a senior author on the study and a consultant at the institute and University College London Hospitals NHS foundation trust.
Warning of serious brain disorders in people with mild coronavirus symptoms. The Guardian, 08 July 2020.
▪️ A peak inside the world of drug creation and trials.
In a gigantic feat of scientific ambition, researchers have designed a staggering 1,200 clinical trials aimed at testing treatment and prevention strategies against Covid-19 since the start of January. But a new STAT analysis shows the effort has been marked by disorder and disorganization, with huge financial resources wasted.
Data show panic and disorganization dominate the study of Covid-19 drugs. STAT News, 06 July 2020.
▪️ It probably won’t be a surprise to you that 9-in-10 of the people who are becoming infected by COVID-19 in US meat and poultry plants are mostly racial and ethnic minority patients.
For April and May, 23 states reported 16,233 cases in 239 facilities; there were 86 COVID-19–related deaths. However, only 21 states were included in the report.
The variance between the demographics of the employees and the demographics of those who became ill (only 9,919 had ethnicity reported) “[suggest] Hispanic and Asian workers might be disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in this workplace setting.”
Employees: 39% white, 30% Hispanic, 25% black and 6% Asian
Patients: 13% white, 56% Hispanic, 19% black and 12% Asian
Update: COVID-19 Among Workers in Meat and Poultry Processing Facilities ― United States, April–May 2020. CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 07 July 2020.
🎧 Recommended listening
Any state that is having a serious problem, that state should seriously look at shutting down… New York … did it and it worked for them…. We are all in this together. And that’s not just a soundbite. That’s a reality. ~Dr. Anthony Fauci
Dr. Anthony Fauci: America Faces a 'Serious Situation'. The Journal Podcast, 08 July 2020. No $ required.
Sections (no jump links, sorry!)
1, Around the country; 2, Around the world; 3, Politics, economics and COVID-19; 4, Case count; 5, What you can do and resources
⓵ Around the country
Eleven states reported more than 1,000 cases. Only one is outside of the south or the does not touch the US southern border, Ohio.
11,694 CA
9,989 FL
9,979 TX
3,520 AZ
3,420 GA
2,472 TN
1,888 LA
1,557 SC
1,435 NC
1,277 OH
1,177 AL
❌ In Arizona, almost half of the employees at an ICE detention center have tested positive for COVID-19. One has died. The ripple effect impacts detainees.
❌ The Trump campaign rally in Tulsa, OK “likely contributed” to this week’s one-day record report: 261 confirmed new cases on Monday. That was followed by 206 cases on Tuesday for a total of 467. The prior week? Less than half that many cases: Monday, 76; Tuesday, 96 (172).
In a video from the Tulsa event, Trump campaign staff removed stickers on seats that would have ensured physical distancing. The venue had placed the stickers, which read “Do Not Sit Here, Please!”, on seats to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner made the announcement about the event which was scheduled 16-18 July that and expected to draw approximately 6,000 attendees.
On Tuesday, a record 3,851 people were hospitalized for the coronavirus in the Houston region, exceeding normal intensive care capacity and sending some hospitals scrambling to find additional staff and space.
The city saw a spike in DOA cases in June to almost 300 compared to less than 200 last June. This is what happened in New York in April.
[R]esearchers and paramedics say that the trend of sudden at-home deaths in Texas’ largest city is concerning because it shows that the virus’ toll may be deeper than what appears in official death tallies and daily hospitalization reports.
⓶ Around the world
Brazilian journalists plan to file a lawsuit against the country's president, Jair Bolsonaro, because he removed his protective mask when he announced his COVID-19 diagnosis to reporters.
[ABI President Paulo Jeronimo] De Sousa said the president “broke the isolation recommended by the doctors” and “received journalists from media he considers to be supportive” of his policies to “personally inform them” that he is infected with the virus.
⓷ Politics, economics and COVID-19
⓸ Case count
There is a lag between being contagious and showing symptoms, between having a test and getting its results. There is also a lag in reports of cases and deaths making their way into daily results; this lag is visible in predictable declines for both reports containing weekend data.
🌎 08 July
Globally: 11 669 259 cases (168 957) 539 906 deaths (4 147)
The Americas: 6 004 685 cases (89 134) 268 828 deaths (2 092)
US: 2 923 432 cases (46 194 new) with 129 963 deaths (320 new)
Johns Hopkins interactive dashboard (11.00 pm Pacific)
Global confirmed: 12,041,480 (242,037 new)
Total deaths: 549,468 (5,910 new)
Recovered: 6,587,439 (162,991 new)
🇺🇸 08 July
CDC: 2,982,900 (50,304 new) cases and 131,065 (932 new) deaths
Johns Hopkins*: 3,054,699 (58,601 new) cases and 132,300 (820 new) death
State data*: 3,043,257 (62,933 new) identified cases and 124,729 (893 new) deaths
KS reports only M-W-F; RI reports only M-FTotal tests (US, Johns Hopkins): 37,431,666 (553,560 new)
Take with a grain of salt. Tests not necessarily people. The CDC and at least 11 other states have combined the data for active infections with data for antibodies, boosting total number of tests which can drop the percentage who test positive.
📣 View weekly state infographics
* Johns Hopkins data, ~11.00 pm Pacific.
State data include DC, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands
The virus was not created in a lab and the weight of evidence is it was not released intentionally. Although early reports tied the outbreak to a market in Wuhan, China, analyses of genomic data in January suggested that the virus might have developed elsewhere.
⓹ What you can do
Stay home as much as possible, period.
Wear a mask when near non-family members.
Digestive problems may be a symptom.
Resources
👓 See COVID-19 resource collection at WiredPen.
📝 Subscribe to Kathy’s COVID-19 Memo :: COVID-19 Memo archives
🦠 COVID-19 @ WiredPen.com
📊 Visualizations: US, World
🌐 Global news (at WiredPen)