The Covid-19 case totals above are current as of 06.20.20.
At least we still have beds.
The adult ICU bed count is current as of 06.19.20.
COVID-19
The Latest in COVID-19 News: Week Ending 06.20.20 – NEJM Journal Watch
Click on the link for the NEJM Journal Watch weekly update. NO paywalls on any of the links in this article.
The Latest in COVID-19 News: Week Ending June 20
Meanwhile in Oklahoma…
Perfect time to hold an indoor rally.
Carnival Cruises Posts 2Q $4.4 Billion Loss
I’ve been on several cruises in my life. As an excessive weight challenged individual cruises have always been problematic for me. Too much food. Too much alcohol. The last opportunity to join relatives on a cruise was a few years ago. I declined to participate. I just don’t like cruises.
But I also don’t like witnessing businesses crash and burn. Stunning number.
Antibodies against coronavirus start to decrease in 2-3 months, study finds — Science Chronicle
The study found IgG levels and neutralizing antibodies started to decrease within two-three months after infection with novel coronavirus. The reduction was more (40%) in the case asymptomatic individuals than symptomatic individuals (nearly 13%). A few countries, including UK, were toying with the idea of issuing some form of a certificate to people who have […]
via Antibodies against coronavirus start to decrease in 2-3 months, study finds — Science Chronicle
Worried About Oklahoma
Dr. Bruce Dart of the Tulsa Health Department reported Monday that the positive rate by our Health Department has spiked to 15%, suggesting the increase in positive cases is not solely due to increased testing. Anecdotally, many of my colleagues report seeing more positive cases on a shift than ever before.
I’m a Tulsa emergency physician and conservative, and the Trump rally is a terrible idea
I’m not a Tulsa emergency physician and I also think the rally is a terrible idea.
Chart source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
We have crossed the line. What a difference a day makes.
We just need to test more to find more negatives to get our positivity rate down.
Right?
Wrong.
Worried About…Florida
The graph below compares states’ rate of positivity to the recommended positivity rate of 5% or below. States that meet the WHO’s recommended criteria appear in green, while the states that are not testing enough to meet the positivity benchmark are in orange. Source – Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
Oklahoma is teetering on the edge. But Florida is over the edge. New cases in Florida below.
Meanwhile in Oklahoma…
I learned you can grab graphs easily from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
I also heard there was a political rally on Saturday in Tulsa.
I have no intentions of being anywhere near downtown Tulsa on Saturday.
But for those of you who plan on going at least we have plenty of beds.
COVID-19 Overwhelms Border ICUs
COVID-19 Overwhelms Border ICUs
El Centro Regional Medical Center was so overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients it had to divert some to health care facilities in San Diego, National City and elsewhere. There have been more than 2,025 confirmed cases in Imperial County, which has the highest COVID-19 hospitalization rate in the state, said Andrea Bowers, special projects coordinator for the county health department.
“We know that our community has family on both sides of the border, so we’re relating the uptick to Mother’s Day weekend,” said Suzanne Martinez, assistant chief nursing officer at the medical center. “That means more risk as people travel back and forth over the border.”
Mothers’ Day weekend.
Hmm…then there’s Memorial Day weekend.
Followed by protests (not a political statement, just an observation of large crowds).
We are doomed.
Worried About Arizona
Update 06.16.20
Charts above from Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding Twitter post 06.16.20.
New, confirmed cases in Arizona totaled 4,500 from May 24 to May 30, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services, as of Saturday morning. That’s nearly a 50% increase from the week before.
The health department’s data show cases increasing at a faster rate than diagnostic testing. The week ending on May 30 saw tests increase by about 14% statewide, compared to the 50% increase in cases. The same week saw tests increase by about 34% in Pima County, compared to the 85% increase in cases.
Chart tool by covidcharts.tech; data from the COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic, link to the full article — America Is Giving Up on the Pandemic
Americans may wish the virus to be gone, but it is not. While the outbreak has eased in the Northeast, driving down the overall national numbers, cases have only plateaued in the rest of the country, and they appear to be on the rise in recent days in COVID Tracking Project data. Twenty-two states reported 400 or more new cases Friday, and 14 other states and Puerto Rico reported cases in the triple digits. Several states—including Arizona, North Carolina, and California—are now seeing their highest numbers of known cases.
I’m having trouble understanding human behavior. Way too many people are equating reopening with it’s OK to go back to life as it was pre-Covid-19. I made some observations at the grocery store on my other blog. I’m beginning to see more mask-less people disregarding simple physical distancing. I’ve spent a lot of time researching and reading up on this virus to stay safe and to share what I’ve learned so others can keep themselves safe. Despite the idiots that walk amongst us I’ll continue to keep doing what I do because it’s what I do.
This shit is real and it is scary. COVID is taking patients down, and we do not know how to stop it. The images of overflowing EDs, overworked providers, patients who cannot breathe—these are real and it is happening. Do not let anyone tell you its not.
Rebecca Karb MD
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This shit is real. Stay safe.
Update 06.10.20
NEJM Journal Watch – 06.05.20
Prevalence of asymptomatic disease: An estimated 40–45% of people who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 do not have symptoms at the time of testing, according to a narrative review of 16 cohorts in the Annals of Internal Medicine. In four cohorts with longitudinal data, few of the asymptomatic patients (0–10%) went on to develop symptoms. But in one skilled nursing facility, 89% of initially asymptomatic patients became sick. The researchers say, “It is imperative that testing programs include those without symptoms.” They add, “The early data that we have assembled on the prevalence of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection suggest that this is a significant factor in the rapid progression of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Smoking cigarettes — even one or less per day — is associated with increased mortality risk, a JAMA Network Open study shows. Researchers combined data from several federal smoking surveys performed between 1992 and 2011. In those surveys, some 500,000 adults reported their smoking histories. National mortality data showed that, compared with never-smokers, daily smokers (averaging 600 cigarettes per month) bore a 2.3-fold higher all-cause mortality risk, with non-daily smokers (averaging 40 per month) sustaining a 1.8-fold higher risk. Heightened mortality risks became apparent even at levels of 6 to 10 cigarettes per month. The researchers conclude: “Thus, all smokers should quit, regardless of how infrequently they smoke.”
How the USAF Limited Covid-19 Transmission
Nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPI) introduced among 10,579 basic trainees at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland limited COVID-19 incidence to five cases (47 per 100,000 persons), three of which were in persons who were contacts of the first patient.
Citation for this article: Marcus JE, Frankel DN, Pawlak MT, et al. COVID-19 Monitoring and Response Among U.S. Air Force Basic Military Trainees — Texas, March–April 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 2 June 2020. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6922e2external icon.
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