Tag Archives: virology

The Providence Journal reports: The Rhode Island Department of Health has announced the state’s first “presumptive positive” case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The person is in their 40s and had traveled to Italy in mid-February, the department says. The news release does not reveal the person’s gender or hometown. It says that the person has had “limited travel” in …

Slate reports: It seems the surgeon general has had it. And he has a simple request for Americans: Stop buying face masks. He was so serious about that message that he wrote it in all caps. “Seriously people,” Surgeon General Jerome Adams wrote on Twitter, “STOP BUYING MASKS!” Adams went on to note that masks are “NOT effective” for the …

The New York Times reports: President Trump sought on Saturday to more aggressively address the coronavirus after weeks of confusion over his administration’s response, urging public calm and issuing new foreign travel warnings and restrictions. Mr. Trump presided over an abruptly announced news conference in the White House briefing room, at which Vice President Mike Pence announced that the administration …

The Washington Post reports: The first wave wasn’t that bad. In the spring of 1918, a new strain of influenza hit military camps in Europe on both sides of World War I. Soldiers were affected, but not nearly as severely as they would be later. Even so, Britain, France, Germany and other European governments kept it secret. They didn’t want …

The BBC reports: At least 210 people in Iran have died as a result of the new coronavirus disease, sources in the country’s health system have told BBC Persian. Most of the victims are from the capital, Tehran, and the city of Qom, where cases of Covid-19 first emerged. The figure is six times higher than the official death toll …

The Washington Post reports: California has a second case of community transmission of the coronavirus, a 65-year-old resident of Santa Clara County who has no known history of travel to countries hit hard by the outbreak, people familiar with the case said Friday. There is also no apparent connection between the new patient and anyone else with the disease caused …

ABC News reports: The latest patient being treated for the novel coronavirus in the United States is being investigated by health officials as possibly the first case of “community spread” on American soil. The newest patient, who is a resident of California, had no known exposure to the virus through travel or close contact with a known infected individual, according …

The New York Times reports: President Trump named Vice President Mike Pence his point person to coordinate the government’s response to the coronavirus, expressing confidence that the United States would prevent a widespread domestic outbreak of the coronavirus. Mr. Trump’s announcement, at a White House news conference, came after two days of contradictory messages from government officials about the dangers …

The Insider reports: The coronavirus has now reached every continent on earth except for Antarctica after Brazil confirmed its first case. On Tuesday, Brazil’s ministry of health confirmed that a man in São Paulo had tested positive for COVID-19, according to Reuters. The 61-year-old male returned to São Paulo from Lombardy, Italy, on February 21, the ministry said. He had …

The New York Times reports: Iran’s deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi, who has spearheaded the country’s efforts to contain the coronavirus, has contracted the illness, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday, renewing concerns about the spread of the virus in the country. In an interview with the state-run news outlet IRNA, a spokesman for the ministry said that Mr. Harirchi …

Agence France-Presse reports: More than 50,000 people are locked down in about a dozen Italian villages where the most deaths and infections have been recorded. Schools, shops and offices are closed and armed police are threatening to arrest and detain anyone who attempts to leave the quarantine zone. Panic is taking hold in the nearby city of Milan, the engine …

The Associated Press reports: A staggering 50 people have died in the Iranian city of Qom from the new coronavirus this month, a lawmaker was quoted as saying on Monday, even as the Health Ministry insisted only 12 deaths have been recorded to date in the country. The new death toll reported by the Qom representative, Ahmad Amiriabadi Farahani, is …

The New York Times reports: Health officials in Italy raced to contain the first major coronavirus outbreak in Europe, locking down more than 50,000 people in 10 towns in the northern Lombardy region, where a sizable cluster of coronavirus infections has emerged, and passing emergency measures that apply throughout the country. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Italy has …

Politico reports: The White House will soon ask Congress for emergency funds to fight the coronavirus outbreak, after weeks of hesitation by the administration to press for additional funding, said four individuals with knowledge of the pending request. However, the amount could be significantly lower than some public health officials have argued is necessary — potentially as little as $1 …

“OK, I’m going to address this one last time. Viruses, a lot of viruses have what are called hyper variable regions. This helps the virus find a new host, it’s a survival advantage. Everybody’s looked at these sequences. “If there was something definitely there, there’d be a rash of scientists speaking out about it. There’s not a rash of scientists …

NBC News reports: China’s Hubei province, the center of the coronavirus outbreak, reported a stark rise in the number of new cases Thursday, dashing hopes that the epidemic may have been slowing down. Health officials in Hubei reported 14,840 new cases, most of them in Wuhan. The province also said another 242 people had died from the coronavirus Wednesday, bringing …

NBC News reports: The new coronavirus that’s sickened more than 42,000 people in China now has an official name: COVID-19. It stands for the coronavirus disease that was discovered in 2019. The World Health Organization announced the name Tuesday, saying it was careful to find a name without stigma. “We had to find a name that did not refer to …

The New York Times reports: The Chinese government has announced a temporary name for the illness caused by the coronavirus, ordering the local authorities and state news media to adopt it. In English, it will be called NCP, for novel coronavirus pneumonia, the National Health Commission said on Saturday. The naming of viral illnesses is a complicated matter that involves …

The New York Times reports: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notified Congress on Sunday it may need to transfer up to $136 million to help combat the fast-moving coronavirus epidemic, a new sign of how the White House has increased its response in recent days. The notification came as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is …

The New York Post reports: The Chinese government on Monday accused the US of spreading “panic” over the coronavirus outbreak by pulling its citizens out of the country and restricting travel instead of offering significant assistance. The US was the first country to begin evacuations, issued a travel warning against going to China, and from Sunday barred entry to foreigners …