US Cases: 5,169,130*
US Deaths: 157,729*
Worldwide Cases: 20,461,772*
Worldwide Deaths: 745,780*
* - Numbers are a lower bound. True numbers are being suppressed by the Trump administration
Why are there so many asymptomatic coronavirus carriers? We don't really know, but today there is a summary of possible theories in the Washington Post. My favorite is the last one:
Before the pandemic, Gandhi, the University of California researcher, specialized in HIV. But like other infectious-disease experts these days, she has spent many of her waking hours thinking about the coronavirus. And in scrutinizing the data on outbreaks one day, she noticed what might be a pattern: People were wearing masks in the settings with the highest percentage of asymptomatic cases.The numbers on two cruise ships were especially striking. In the Diamond Princess, where masks weren’t used and the virus was likely to have roamed free, 47 percent of those tested were asymptomatic. But in the Antarctic-bound Argentine cruise ship, where an outbreak hit in mid-March and surgical masks were given to all passengers and N95 masks to the crew, 81 percent were asymptomatic.Similarly high rates of asymptomatic infection were documented at a pediatric dialysis unit in Indiana, a seafood plant in Oregon and a hair salon in Missouri, all of which used masks. Gandhi was also intrigued by countries such as Singapore, Vietnam and the Czech Republic that had population-level masking.
On a separate note, for all the talk about the way that Trump and his minions are intentionally destroying the Post Office in an effort to limit mail-in voting, it is undeniable that millions of people will still need to vote in person this fall. And so the Brennan Center for Justice has published guidelines for how to best insure everyone's safety for in-person voting.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of threats both to America, and to our personal safety, to navigate right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment