March 22, 2020

NC textile mill 'heeds call of nation,' gears up to make 10 million face masks per week

Amid warnings of an impending shortage of protective equipment for medical staff, a Gastonia-based textile company is organizing a national effort to ramp up production of face masks for healthcare workers.

Parkdale Mills Inc., one of the country’s largest yarn spinners, is working with companies like Hanesbrand, Fruit of the Loom, and six others to build a manufacturing supply chain for the masks, the National Council of Textile Organizations said in a press release.

The decision, according to NCTO, “heeds call of nation” to help.

While the companies are often competitors in the marketplace, they “are banding together for the greater good of a nation facing one if its most monumental challenges,” the statement said.

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article241413386.html?

March 22, 2020

Seeing reports that Harvey Weinstein has COVID19

https://twitter.com/TipMahoney/status/1241824004127838208


Oscar-winning movie producer Harvey Weinstein has tested positive for #COVID19 virus at an upstate New York prison, CNHI has learned. Exclusive report coming from
@TipMahoney

#MeToo


@TipMahoney's bio:

Proud Dad. Newspaperman. Boston native. NY Daily News, Albany Times Union, Burlington Free Press, Daily Hampshire Gazette; US Air Force,
@UMassAmherst

March 19, 2020

Elon Musk has offered to make ventilators at Tesla/ SpaceX factories

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1240492347835604992?s=21


Tesla makes cars with sophisticated hvac systems. SpaceX makes spacecraft with life support systems. Ventilators are not difficult, but cannot be produced instantly. Which hospitals have these shortages you speak of right now?


https://twitter.com/nycmayor/status/1240628796878991362?s=21

New York City is buying!

Our country is facing a drastic shortage and we need ventilators ASAP — we will need thousands in this city over the next few weeks. We’re getting them as fast as we can but we could use your help!

We’re reaching out to you directly.

March 18, 2020

Aggressive testing helps Italian town cut new coronavirus cases to zero

An infection control experiment that was rolled out in a small Italian community at the start of Europe’s coronavirus crisis has stopped all new infections in the town that was at the centre of the country’s outbreak.

Through testing and retesting of all 3,300 inhabitants of the town of Vò, near Venice, regardless of whether they were exhibiting symptoms, and rigorous quarantining of their contacts once infection was confirmed, health authorities have been able to completely stop the spread of the illness there.

Andrea Crisanti, an infections expert at Imperial College London who is taking part in the Vò project while on sabbatical at the University of Padua, urged countries that have been limiting virus testing, which includes the UK and US, to learn lessons and ramp up the numbers of people being screened.

“In the UK, there are a whole lot of infections that are completely ignored,” Prof Crisanti said. “We were able to contain the outbreak here because we identified and eliminated the ‘submerged’ infections and isolated them,” he said of the Vò approach. “That is what makes the difference.”


https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/aggressive-testing-helps-italian-town-cut-new-coronavirus-cases-to-zero-1.4205354#.XnGiL82svgI.twitter

March 18, 2020

Inside the Singapore lab on the front lines of the fight against coronavirus- Richard Engel

Richard Engel has been doing excellent reporting on COVID. Worth checking out his series On Assignment



https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1240231542804353025

Inside the Singapore lab on the front lines of the fight against coronavirus.

https://www.msnbc.com/on-assignment/watch/inside-the-singapore-lab-on-the-front-lines-of-the-fight-against-coronavirus-80361541527?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma




German laboratory ramps up production of new COVID-19 test

http://www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/watch/german-laboratory-ramps-up-production-of-new-covid-19-test-80488517979

March 18, 2020

Taiwan started preparing for COVID19 in December. Only has 67 cases

The reason they started so early is because there are many hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese working in China, which means there is a high frequency of flights and travelers between the country and Taiwan.


Taiwan has 10 million masks a day, widespread tracking, and just 1 death despite being close to the outbreak.

From the article: Taiwan took measures early on, including inspecting plane passengers coming from Wuhan starting Dec. 31, banning Wuhan residents on Jan. 23, suspending tours to China on Jan. 25, and eventually banning all Chinese visitors on Feb. 6.

Recognizing that it had to ensure an adequate supply of medical equipment, including face masks, for health professionals and the public, Taiwan’s government stopped exports of surgical face masks on January 24 while requesting local companies to step up production. Daily production is set to reach 10 million soon, divided between the public, medical, and industrial sectors.

The government also took control of face mask distribution from the private sector on Jan. 31, ensuring there would be no hoarding of supplies or exploitative pricing, as has happened in other places such as Hong Kong. Taiwan also implemented a purchasing policy on Feb. 6 in which every Taiwanese can buy a certain amount of adult and children’s masks per week from pharmacies and clinics for NT$5 ($0.17) each. And to allow for easier distribution and prevent long lines outside clinics, Taiwanese can now start ordering their masks online and pick them up at a later date.

To ensure coordination, Taiwan set up a unified command center, led by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which manages resources, holds daily briefings, and is in control of public messaging. The authorities have also moved quickly to track down infected persons and map the cases to show the sources of infection. Educating the public on the risks of the illness and precautions to take through television notices and posters is also a big part of anti-coronavirus efforts.


https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/16/taiwan-china-fear-coronavirus-success/

March 18, 2020

Non-essential travel is going to be suspended between here and Canada

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1240099950299578371


The United States and Canada are preparing to issue a joint statement in the next 24 to 48 hours to suspend non-essential travel between the two countries, a Trump administration official says

March 18, 2020

NYC now has 923 cases, 10 deaths

De Blasio is on MSNBC and said they got a 100 new cases today.

March 18, 2020

Univ. of Minn. has launched a clinical trial studying a drug for those exposed to COVID19

https://twitter.com/boulware_dr/status/1239944721386164225

Healthcare worker exposed to COVID-19? Sharing a home with someone with COVID-19? Our Univ. of Minnesota team at the has launched a clinical trial studying a drug that may help prevent infection in those exposed to coronavirus. Email us at covid19@umn.edu to enroll.#IDTwitter

March 17, 2020

Pentagon is giving 5 million respirators, 2,000 ventilators to HHS

https://twitter.com/Walldo/status/1239995731349590024

(AP) — Pentagon says it will give 5 million respirators, 2,000 ventilators to Health and Human Services for virus response.