Dr. Stuart Weiss: COVID-19 Update Friday 24-July-2020
Dr. Stuart Weiss, FACEP, FAAP, CBCP
| July 24, 2020 Today’s topics: CoVid-19 sniffing dogs, favorite movies delayed, Friday calls There will NOT be a Friday call tomorrow at noon. |
| CoViD sniffing Dogs Several months ago, I wrote about a group in England that was trying to train dogs to sniff out CoviD disease. As you may know, dogs have a tremendously sensitive nose and are able to detect and differentiate scents at a level far more precise than human. Several studies have proven dog’s ability to detect different types of cancers, malaria, bacterial and viral infections. Yesterday, a group out of Hanover, Germany published a study of their dogs in the British Medical Journal. In their study, they trained eight detection dogs for a week to detect either saliva or lung/trachea secretions in Covid-19 positive patients. They also collected the same types of samples from COViD-19 negative patients. Each sample was put onto a cotton pad into a glass tube. They used a device called a Detection Dog Training System. It has seven scent holes which had negative samples behind 6 holes and one positive sample behind the seventh hole. If the dog detected the correct positive hole, they got a treat. Neither the dog or its handler knew which hole had the CoViD-19 positive sample behind it. The dogs were presented with 1,012 randomized samples and achieved an overall detection rate of 94%. The dogs discriminated between healthy and infected people with an overall sensitivity of 82.6% and a specificity of 96.3%. That is not bad for mass screening. There are some issues pointed out by the authors. The fact that dogs may be able to get infected from humans may present problems when using them to detect virus. If a dog does get infected, no one know if there sense of smell could be affected like it is in humans.In the study, they inactivated the virus and that could have introduced some false readings. Also, samples were taken from patients in the hospital with significant illness. More study would need to be done on asymptomatic or mildly sick people. It’s an interesting step towards using dogs for mass screening. Movies I was extremely disappointed this morning when I woke up. Each morning when my alarm goes off, I have programmed Alexa to read me the morning headlines and stories. One of the first stories was about Disney. The main story was about the delay again of the release of Mulan, the Disney blockbuster summer movie that was supposed to be released on Aug 21st. While that might be disappointing to some, the next item was what saddened me. Disney has also announced that future Avatar movies and Star Wars movies will be delayed by a year. This is terrible. I was really looking forward to Avatar-2 coming out next year and now it won’t be until 2022. Avatar-2 is supposed to take place under water with the group that lives under the sea. I really wanted to see what trouble Jake and Neytiri get into. Oh well. Disney said all the changes are the result of movie theaters being closed due to CoViD-19. Friday calls Friday noon eastern calls have been part of what we do since the start of the pandemic. Many of you have been joining us each week.and expressed how much you enjoy the weekly wrap-up. Unfortunately, recently, certain projects I and my company have been involved with have resulted in meetings at exactly that time each Friday. That has resulted in me missing the call and leaving many of you sitting there. I sincerely apologize for that and for wasting your time. So I have decided to cancel the calls for the next several weeks to allow these projects to progress to the point where I can be assured that I will make the time slot work. We will, of course, continue these newsletters each weekday and I encourage you to still email your questions. I will let you know when we resume Friday calls. Be well and take care of yourself. There are storm clouds on the horizon. –Dr. Stu |
COVID-19 HEADLINES FOR TODAY
| Coronavirus update for July 24, 2020 World Wide Updates Bolivian region’s health secretary dies after contracting coronavirus São Paulo postpones Carnival 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic UK prime minister says government could have handled the pandemic differently Costa Rica won’t allow international tourists from the US yet France and Germany will test travelers from high-risk countries upon arrival WHO head slams Pompeo’s claim that he was “bought” by China as “untrue and unacceptable” Red Cross warns coronavirus crisis could prompt “massive” new migration Masked models strut the runway in Seoul fashion show France advises citizens not to travel to Catalonia Norway reimposes quarantine on people arriving from Spain 103-year old recovers from Covid-19 in Pakistan South Africa shuts down schools for a month Belgian government pauses easing of lockdown after rise in infections Footage of Niagara Falls tour boats highlights the stark differences in physical distancing between Canadian and Us- managed companies Portugal says UK’s decision to persist with a quarantine regime for travelers from the country is not “backed by the facts” Chile capital’s lockdown to be lifted on Tuesday July 28. health minister says Nicaraguans are stuck between Costa Rica and Nicaragua after government refuses them without proof of no COVID-19 COVID-19 kills scores of health workers in war-torn Yemen Nearly a quarter of people in Delhi have had coronavirus, study finds Mexico reported more than 700 new deaths and at least 8,400 cases in 24 hours as the country’s epidemic grows out of control Total Cases Worldwide: 15,897,180 Total Deaths Worldwide: 641,019 Total Recovered: 9,665,617 US Updates California will allow elementary schools to reopen for in-person learning with waiver Covid-19 can be a prolonged illness, even for young adults, CDC report says Hawaii reports record number of new coronavirus cases for second day in a row 84 New York bars and restaurants violated Covid-19 rules, governor says Arizona reports more than 3,300 new coronavirus cases Florida governor will meet with Trump at White House soon to discuss the pandemic Universal Studios cancels Halloween Horror Nights due to coronavirus pandemic Pelosi urges Republicans to include unemployment provisions in stimulus package At least 19 people got coronavirus after attending a local fair in Ohio, health officials say Covid-19 hospitalizations in Florida are up 83.5% McDonald’s and Chipotle will require customers to wear masks as Covid-19 cases surge Harris County, in Texas, orders in-person schooling to be delayed CDC guidelines meant “to help facilitate the reopening of schools,” not keep them closed, director says DC mayor issues 14-day quarantine for people traveling from hotspots Vermont requires to wear a mask when you can’t social distance New York reports its lowest number of hospitalizations since mid-March Fauci says it’s not necessary to shut down the country, but some places can take a step back California reports highest number of Covid-19 deaths in single day Massachusetts governor announces new travel order to go into effect on August 1 Florida reports more than 12,000 more Covid-19 cases New York City will open 1.5 miles of streets for kids to play while social distancing Starr County, in Texas, is under a stay-at-home order with curfew for 2 weeks At least 55 Florida ICUs are out of beds More than 300,000 Americans could die if Covid-19 trajectory doesn’t change, former FDA head says US regulators order inspections of Boeing 737s parked in pandemic after engine failure incidents 2 Detroit students currently attending summer school test positive for COVID-19 New Jersey coronavirus outbreak linked to teen house party Lack of staff and safety measures sparked coronavirus outbreak at California federal prison, new report says ICE not allowing newly enrolled students to enter the US for online-only classes President Trump said Republicans have scrapped plans to hold convention activities in Jacksonville, as the pandemic continues to surge in Florida Total US cases: 4,236,874 Total US deaths: 148,259 Total Recovered: 2,009,804 Total Tested in US: 48,794,970 Total cases in CA: 440,429 Total deaths in CA: 8,264 Total cases in NY: 438,402 Total deaths in NY: 32,662 Total cases in FL: 402,312 Total deaths in FL: 5,653 Total cases in TX: 382,152 Total deaths in TX: 4,846 Contact us |
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