Emergence of a Deadly Coronavirus

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On television a few days ago they showed doctors and nurses placing their face mask in a paper bag with their name written on it, so they could reuse it the next day. This is because face mask are in short supply and these hospitals ran out. The approach shown on television looked like the doctors/nurses might be infecting themselves.

A little while ago, I wrote:

So it was interesting that as I checked the news this morning there was an article about how to disinfect face mask:

Referring to a paper published in the journal Annals of Occupational Hygiene in 2009, among others, the researchers compared and contrasted these different methods for sterilizing N95 masks, many of which were ineffective:

* Heat in an oven for 30 minutes at 58 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees Celsius)
* Use ultraviolet light for 30 minutes
* Soak the mask in 75% ethyl alcohol, then let it dry
* Clean the mask with liquid or vapor hydrogen peroxide
* Clean the mask with bleach
* Steam the mask with hot vapor from boiling water
* Microwave the mask
* Use extreme heat in an oven or autoclave
* Soak in soap and water

"To be useful, a decontamination method must eliminate the viral threat, be harmless to end-users and retain respirator integrity," they wrote.

All of the methods used were believed effective for destroying coronaviruses, they wrote, but not all of them were good ideas.

"DO NOT use alcohol and chlorine [bleach]-based disinfection methods," they wrote. "These will remove the static charge in the microfibers in N95 facial masks, reducing filtration efficiency. In addition, chlorine also retains gas after de-contamination, and these fumes may be harmful."

Microwaves tended to melt the masks and render them useless.

Hydrogen peroxide and ultraviolet radiation appeared to be at least somewhat more effective, they wrote, "but it is not known if they would retain filtration, material strength and airflow integrity with repeated use."

Autoclaves, 320 F [160 C] ovens, and soap and water soaking, all appeared ineffective, they wrote.

However, they wrote, "70 C / 158 F heating in a kitchen-type of oven for 30 min, or hot water vapor from boiling water for 10 min, are additional effective decontamination methods."

The CDC still does not recommend reusing masks, and the researchers encouraged doctors to follow guidelines in their clinics. If you are not a medical professional, the best way to avoid getting sick isn't using a mask (new or reused), but staying at home. If you must go out, homemade cloth masks are an imperfect but better-than-nothing option, as Live Science has reported. However, a mask is much more likely to help you avoid spreading the illness if you are sick than it is to protect you from the illness, as Live Science has also reported.

Source: Coronavirus-linked face mask shortage prompts doctors to seek best practices on reuse

I am very familiar with this medication. A family member has taken it for years for Lupus, and I have two months' worth in front of me right now. I'm glad that they are investigating it further in clinical trials because it does carry serious side effects including eye damage and blindness. People who take this drug need special ophthalmology testing on a regular basis to ensure they don't go blind. It can also cause organ damage, including brain damage. This drug is currently being hoarded around the world and is in short supply or unavailable for patients who need it for Rheumatic autoimmune disorders. Few can take the generic version effectively. Let's let the drug trials continue, because no one should be taking this if it isn't fully approved for COVID. It certainly can't be used as a preventative drug, in any case.

The naysayers, disbelievers and rule-breakers in the global fight against COVID-19 have been honored with a new term describing their dimwitted defiance: “Covidiot.”

Urban Dictionary’s most popular, recent definition of “covidiot” defines the offender as “someone who ignores the warnings regarding public health or safety” during the worldwide coronavirus outbreak.

Glad to hear this, I hope he makes a speedy recovery.

Dear jimmy m,
Thank you for creating one of the most popular threads on WP!
Thank you for a place to discuss, learn, vent, and some of us REALLY need some conversation right now!
We all appreciate the research you are doing and sharing; thank you so much, again!

Sylkat
(Too bad for the terrifying circumstances, but a place to talk to people helps!)

https://pitchfork.com/news/elton-john-e ... nEM2D1Tr-U

Elton has organised a benefits show.

Get your Elderberry Wine, now.

I think the key issue for the cracking down is they are prescribing the drug to themself. If they are allowed to prescribe to themselves in this issue, why not let them prescribe things like opioids and stimulants on a normal day while we are at it?

Sorry jimmy I forgot to answer this bit. He is a healthy young 20-something who plays guitar, surfs and skateboards. He is not in any known risk group. He could have picked it up anywhere as he worked as a bartender and spent a lot of time at the beach. Despite being young he has a high fever and migraine and that wretched cough. He was not recommended for a respirator but I don't know if that's because he is back-of-the-queue (not a citizen, and insurance that won't cover COVID), or if he was truly deemed less needy than others. He has to go back in five days for reexamination.

The U.S. is kicking into a volunteer mode for the war effort against the coronavirus.

Approximately 40,000 medical professionals have answered the call to re-join the health care industry as New York grapples with over 30,000 cases of the novel coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday.

Those individuals include over 6,000 mental health professionals who have signed up to help with a hotline (1-844-863-9314) in addition to their individual practices.

Current projections say the state may face 140,000 COVID-19 cases that require hospitalization, including 40,000 patients that require ICU care. Currently, the state has 53,000 hospital beds and 3,000 ICU beds, which Cuomo said officials have been working to increase by exploring ways to increase hospital capacity.

Earlier this week, he had announced a mandate for hospitals to increase capacity by 50 percent, which includes waiving the Department of Health regulations regarding the number of beds allowed in one room.

Source: Coronavirus outbreak in New York sees 40,000 answer call to re-join health care industry, Cuomo says

This is what we do in our country. In times of national disasters, we chip in and give others a hand.

Somewhere around 99% of the individuals that contract this coronavirus recover. He is outside the high risk group, so there is a good chance he may fair quite well. But it still might be useful to apply some of the old world remedies.

The Washington National Cathedral is donating 5,000 respirator masks to two hospitals in the Washington, D.C.-area to combat the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Catholic Church officials found them in a storage area on the cathedral's crypt level just as more cases have been confirmed in Washington.

After confirming with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that the masks are still safe to use, they immediately packed up 13 boxes with 3,000 masks to deliver to Georgetown University Hospital and nine boxes with 2,000 masks to Children's National.


(notice the box reads "2200N95" so these are N95s)

“In these difficult and trying times, the Cathedral community is doing everything we can to help protect the most vulnerable among us from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic,” the Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of Washington National Cathedral, said in a statement provided to Fox News.

The masks were purchased for clergy over a decade ago following a previous health scare, and the church kept a handful of masks just in case.

Source: Washington National Cathedral donates 5,000 respirator masks discovered in storage

Another example of people coming together in a time of crisis and helping each other.

This is the kind of spoons that your mom will never allow you to use them.

Anti-malaria drugs ike hydroxychloroquine -- which are being used to treat coronavirus (COVID-19) patients -- are showing positive results, former Kansas governor and practicing surgeon Dr. Jeff Colyer said Wednesday.

Appearing on "America's Newsroom" with host Ed Henry, Colyer said that data from testing at the University of Kansas and in the Kansas City community have proven the drug to have a "safe safety profile."

"I'm one of those people that has had both the white coat and the blue coat on as a policymaker, and it is an important balance," he explained. "[The] white coat in me would love to have more standardized tests with this. However, we have a lot of data, and in fact, about 21 percent of all prescriptions in the United States are used off-label."

"As I like to say -- or the old saying is -- you know, you go to the war with the army you have, not the army you wish you had," Colyer said.

Source: Doctor, former Kansas governor says coronavirus patients 'doing better' in testing with anti-malaria drug

Boo
I actually have a spoon collection like hanging that in my home, from childhood! Maybe I'll use one for the occasion.
Thanks magz.

The home of the brave!

The U.S. Navy has sent the USNS Mercy to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the USNS Comfort is on its way to NYC. The Comfort, a converted supertanker, features 1,000 beds, 12 fully equipped operating rooms, and up to 1,200 doctors, nurses, and medical specialists. It is the famous ship that came to NYC in the aftermath of 9/11.

There is an old saying "Born with a silver spoon in one's mouth".
It means - The English language expression silver spoon is synonymous with wealth, especially inherited wealth; someone born into a wealthy family is said to have "been born with a silver spoon in their mouth".

Years ago I bought my grandkids a silver spoon but for an entirely different purpose.
Silver is the most reflective and conductive metal on the earth, which possess antimicrobial and antibacterial properties. Sterling silverware kills the bacteria, algae and fungi in the food and makes it healthier. This happens because silver suspends the bacteria cell's ability to form the chemical bond needed for its survival. Therefore eating with a silver spoon help them in combating infections.

Silver nanoparticles have mainly been studied for their antimicrobial potential against bacteria, but have also proven to be active against several types of viruses including human imunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, herpes simplex virus, respiratory syncytial virus, and monkey pox virus. Source: Silver Nanoparticles as Potential Antiviral Agents