Weekly Coronavirus Update: Tuesday, July 14, 2020
I’m a social scientist with a Ph.D. and a journalism background who strongly believes the phrase “knowledge is power”. I write a weekly update on the latest Coronavirus news to help inform the public. The majority of my updates focus on scientific research and I translate the major findings of peer-reviewed studies into language that the general public can understand.
1) I want to start this week’s post with research on masks. Many countries have adopted widespread mask use to help curb transmission of Coronavirus. Interestingly, here in the UK that has never been the case, although it is set to change on 24 July when we’ll be required to wear them in shops. Research overwhelmingly supports the use of masks to minimize the spread of Coronavirus. Two mathematic models focused on population consequences of lockdowns and facemask adoption were developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge. Both models showed “facemask use by the public could significantly reduce the rate of COVID-19 spread, prevent further disease waves and allow less stringent lock-down regimes. The effect is greatest when 100% of the public wear facemasks.” The study said that a combination of mask wearing and lockdown periods are more effective than only using one method. It also showed that masks can be effective in lowering the “R” rate, which is the rate of transmission. For example, if the R is 1, it means that every infected person will infect an average of one other person. When R goes above 1, the virus begins to get out of control. Published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A, the full study can be read here: https://www.cam.ac.uk/…/widespread-facemask-use-could-shrin…
Additionally, you can read a summary of the research here: https://www.cam.ac.uk/…/widespread-facemask-use-could-shrin…
And an article about the new mask mandate in the UK here: https://www.theguardian.com/…/face-masks-shops-england-24-j…
2) When I wrote last week’s post, the World Health Organization (WHO) had not yet confirmed scientists’ finding that the virus is airborne. The WHO has now changed its stance, confirming that it is possible the virus lingers in the air indoors and can be spread from person to person in that way. Experts say that in addition to mask-wearing and social distancing in indoor spaces, ventilation (open windows/doors and HVAC systems that circulate fresh air) is key to minimizing the spread of the airborne virus. A study published by an international group of researchers in the peer-reviewed journal Environment International stated that “existing evidence is sufficiently strong to warrant engineering controls targeting airborne transmission as part of an overall strategy to limit infection risk indoors. Appropriate building engineering controls include sufficient and effective ventilation, possibly enhanced by particle filtration and air disinfection, avoiding air recirculation and avoiding overcrowding.” They recommended such strategies be implemented in schools, hospitals, offices, shops, public transportation, libraries, restaurants, cruise ships, elevators, and conference rooms. You can read the full study here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/…/artic…/pii/S0160412020317876
3) It’s looking likelier that herd immunity may not actually be achievable. A nationwide study in Spain, one of the hardest-hit countries in the early days of the virus, found that just 5% of the population had antibodies to the virus, and 14% of those who initially tested positive for antibodies no longer tested positive for them weeks later. Additionally, about one-third of the population had asymptomatic cases of the virus. The authors of the study, published in peer-reviewed journal The Lancet, concluded, “These results emphasise the need for maintaining public health measures to avoid a new epidemic wave.” Notably, the study acknowledged that it was still unknown whether a person could contract the virus twice, but a recent news report by Vox detailed doctors’ experiences with patients who had been infected twice. Much more research is needed on that topic. To read the study from the Lancet, click here: https://www.thelancet.com/…/PIIS0140-6736(20)3148…/fulltext…
And to read the Vox article about reinfection, click here: https://www.vox.com/…/getting-covid-19-twice-reinfection-an…
4) A study on children with COVID-19 found neurological symptoms in 14.8% of children who were previously healthy. The researchers found encephalopathy (a disease that damages one’s brain), headaches, difficulty swallowing or speaking, meningism (headache, neck stiffness, and sensitivity to light), cerebellar ataxia (poor coordination, difficulty with fine motor tasks, stumbling), muscle weakness, and reduced reflexes in the children. This study had a very small sample size and further research is needed, but the authors cautioned that COVID-19 should be considered as a possible cause if children exhibit any of these symptoms. The study was published in JAMA Neurology and can be read in full here: https://jamanetwork.com/j…/jamaneurology/fullarticle/2767979
5) Adults are also experiencing neurological issues with Coronavirus. Researchers at University College London described patients with COVID-19 who suffered temporary brain dysfunction, strokes, nerve damage, or a rare and sometimes fatal inflammatory condition known as ADEM. In some cases, these were the patients’ only symptoms and they did not have the respiratory issues commonly associated with COVID-19. One of the researchers, Dr. Ross Paterson, said in a press release, “Given that the disease has only been around for a matter of months, we might not yet know what long-term damage Covid-19 can cause. Doctors need to be aware of possible neurological effects, as early diagnosis can improve patient outcomes. People recovering from the virus should seek professional health advice if they experience neurological symptoms.” You can read the full study here: https://academic.oup.com/…/doi/10.1093/brain/awaa240/5868408
And you can read the press release here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/…/delirium-rare-brain-inflammation-an…
6) A strong relationship exists between air pollution and increased coronavirus infections, hospital admissions, and deaths according to researchers at the University of Birmingham. In their study just a single-unit increase in exposure to pollution particles was found to increase infections and hospital admissions by 10% and deaths by 15%. An article about this study in The Guardian noted that despite the common misconception that big cities are the only places with higher air pollution, some rural areas with livestock farming also experience very high pollution levels. The study was peer-reviewed and will be published in the journal Environmental and Resource Economics, but at the time I’m writing this it is not yet available on their website: https://www.springer.com/journal/10640
You can read more about it here: https://www.theguardian.com/…/compelling-evidence-air-pollu…
7) Have you ever thought to yourself, “The people who follow public health advice during this pandemic have got to be more intelligent than those who ignore it”? If your answer is “yes”, a new peer-reviewed study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences proves that you’re correct. The study found that an individual’s social distancing compliance was linked to their mental capacity. Those with higher capacities of working memory were more likely to follow public health advice on social distancing. The researchers also considered other factors such as mood, personality, education, and income level, and none of these were significant predictors of whether a person followed social distancing guidelines. Additionally, those with higher levels of fluid intelligence and agreeableness were found to be more compliant with social distancing. The study is not available for free in full-text form, but you can read the abstract here: https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/07/09/2008868117
Another article about the study’s findings can be read here: https://www.psypost.org/…/covidiot-study-lower-cognitive-ab…
8) The US continues to lead the way in terms of new cases. This is not a good thing. On July 10 the nation set a record with 68,241 new cases in one day. Yesterday’s number was 61, 492. Florida alone has experienced new case numbers ranging between 10,000–15,000 in the past few days. If Florida were an actual country, it would be fourth in the world in its number of new daily cases behind the US, Brazil, and India. Cases are rising in 39 US states, Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands. Only two states are experiencing declining case numbers: Maine and New Hampshire. Yesterday California and Oregon rolled back their states’ reopenings in an attempt to get the virus under control. The Washington Post reported that deaths trended upward in the majority of US states over the weekend. Just to provide a few examples, Arizona had a 44% rise in deaths over the past week, Michigan and North Carolina were both +32%, Texas and Alabama both had 30% increases, and Georgia was +27%. Globally, the number of new cases rose by 1 million in just five days and the WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “Let me be blunt, too many countries are headed in the wrong direction, the virus remains public enemy number one. If basics are not followed, the only way this pandemic is going to go, it is going to get worse and worse and worse.”
Data on US case numbers and deaths: https://www.nytimes.com/…/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html… and https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/coronavirus-us-cases-dea…/…
Article about the global number of cases: https://www.reuters.com/…/who-sounds-alarm-as-coronavirus-c…
9) A study of autopsies of those who died from COVID-19 found that blood clots were present in almost every organ. NYU’s Dr. Amy Rapkiewicz, one of the researchers involved in the study, told a CNN reporter that the discovery “was dramatic, because though we might have expected it in the lungs, we found it in almost every organ that we looked at in our autopsy study.” The researchers also found large bone-marrow cells called megakaryocytes in the heart, kidney, liver, and other organs. These cells do not normally circulate outside of the bones and lungs, and are involved in blood clotting. Studies such as these are incredibly important for scientists to understand how COVID-19 affects the body. The peer-reviewed study was published in the journal EClinical Medicine and can be read here: https://www.thelancet.com/…/PIIS2589-5370(20)3017…/fulltext…
And the CNN article can be read here: https://edition.cnn.com/…/what-coronavirus-autop…/index.html
10) Finally, you know one of my favorite sayings is, “We still don’t know the long-term effects of this virus.” Each week we seem to see more evidence of lingering effects after people “recover” from COVID-19. The latest study published on this was conducted by Italian researchers who tracked 143 patients who had been hospitalized. They found that two months after becoming ill, 87.4% of the individuals still experienced at least one symptom (mostly fatigue and shortness of breath), and 55% still had three or more symptoms. Overall, 53.1% reported having fatigue, 43.4% reported dyspnea (shortness of breath), 27.3% had joint pain, 21.7% had chest pain, and 44.1% reported experiencing a worse quality of life post-COVID. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and you can read the full text here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2768351
That’s all for this week. I’ll be back with another update next Tuesday. Please stay safe, everyone!
