Lifeboat Foundation

** On Saturday Dr. Vladimir Zelenko reported that he has now successfully treated 699 COVID-19 patients in New York for the coronavirus. Dr. Zelenko reported 100 percent success using a cocktail of drugs: hydroxychloroquine, in combination with azithromycin (Z-Pak), an antibiotic to treat secondary infections, and zinc sulfate.

** On Friday night the French research team led by the renowned epidemiologist Dr. Didier Raoult was able to repeat his findings from a previous study. Dr. Raoult administered hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin to 80 patients and observed improvement in EVERY CASE except for a very sick 86-year-old with an advanced form of coronavirus infection.

On Sunday night the FDA issued an emergency authorization for hydroxychloroquine to be prescribed to coronavirus patients.

The newly emergent human virus SARS-CoV-2 is resulting in high fatality rates and incapacitated health systems. Preventing further transmission is a priority. We analyzed key parameters of epidemic spread to estimate the contribution of different transmission routes and determine requirements for case isolation and contact-tracing needed to stop the epidemic. We conclude that viral spread is too fast to be contained by manual contact tracing, but could be controlled if this process was faster, more efficient and happened at scale. A contact-tracing App which builds a memory of proximity contacts and immediately notifies contacts of positive cases can achieve epidemic control if used by enough people. By targeting recommendations to only those at risk, epidemics could be contained without need for mass quarantines (‘lock-downs’) that are harmful to society. We discuss the ethical requirements for an intervention of this kind.

COVID-19 is a rapidly spreading infectious disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-COV-2, a betacoronavirus, which has now established a global pandemic. Around half of infected individuals become reported cases, and with intensive care support, the case fatality rate is approximately 2%. More concerning is that the proportion of cases requiring intensive care support is 5%, and patient management is complicated by requirements to use personal protective equipment and engage in complex decontamination procedures. Fatality rates are likely to be higher in populations older than in Hubei province (such as in Europe), and in low-income settings where critical care facilities are lacking. In the public health cost of failing to achieve sustained epidemic suppression was estimated as 250,000 lives lost in the next few months in Great Britain, and 1.1−1.2 million in the USA, even with the strongest possible mitigation action to ‘flatten the curve’.

New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is calling for an investigation into the firing of an Amazon worker who led a protest at a company warehouse in New York City amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Chris Smalls was fired Monday after he led employees protesting Amazon’s decision to keep their Staten Island facility open after a worker tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

A spokesperson for Amazon told The Hill that Smalls was fired for coming onsite after being told to remain home because he had come into contact with another employee who tested positive.

Vulnerable people told to ‘keep a torch, hat, gloves and blanket handy’.

Essential medical supplies, from exam gloves to ventilators, are in short supply. Around the world, makers and engineers are creating open-source versions of much-needed gear and tools.

From Ireland to Seattle, makers and engineers are creating open-source versions of much-needed medical equipment.

(Reuters) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the emergency use of Bodysphere Inc’s test that can detect the coronavirus in nearly two minutes, the privately held company said on Tuesday.

The FDA has been rushing to approve tests on an emergency basis and last week approved Abbott Laboratories’ (ABT.N) test that can deliver results within minutes.

Bodysphere said it was working with the federal and state governments to deliver the test to the frontlines.

A Srinagar-based businessman who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin travelled by air, train and road to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and back to Jammu and Kashmir before he died of Covid-19, raising fears he may have infected many others along the way, officials said on Tuesday. Among his possible victims is a doctor battling for life in a Jammu hospital.

The businessman died on March 26 in a Srinagar hospital, 19 days after he set off for the national capital.

He could have infected scores of people during his travels and about 300 people have been put under quarantine because of him, officials said.

Dr Anim drove his uncle to SMHS Hospital where the physicians suspected him to be a strong case of COVID-19 and referred the patient to Chest Disease Hospital where he tested positive. Two days later, he breathed his last.

“At SKIMS Soura and SKIMS Medical College, I begged for the screening of my uncle. At all the four hospitals, I revealed every detail of my uncle’s travel history. It was duly recorded,” Dr Anim said, refuting allegations that the family had concealed travel history of the deceased.

From Malaysia to Thailand, Pakistan and now India, the Tablighi Jamaat has spread the coronavirus further with large congregations taking place.